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indite

[in-dahyt]
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verb (used with object), in·dit·ed, in·dit·ing.
  1. to compose or write, as a poem.
  2. to treat in a literary composition.
  3. Obsolete. to dictate.
  4. Obsolete. to prescribe.
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Origin of indite

1325–75; Middle English enditen < Old French enditer < Vulgar Latin *indictāre, derivative of Latin indīctus past participle of indīcere to announce, proclaim. See in-2, dictum
Related formsin·dite·ment, nounin·dit·er, noun
Can be confusedindict indite
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for inditement

Historical Examples

  • Reade his Inditement, let him heare What hees to trust to: Boy, give eare!

    Pastoral Poetry and Pastoral Drama

    Walter W. Greg

British Dictionary definitions for inditement

indite

verb (tr)
  1. archaic to write
  2. obsolete to dictate
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Derived Formsinditement, nouninditer, noun

Word Origin

C14: from Old French enditer, from Latin indīcere to declare, from in- ² + dīcere to say

usage

Indite and inditement are sometimes wrongly used where indict and indictment are meant: he was indicted (not indited) for fraud
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for inditement

n.

1560s, "action of writing prose or verse," from indite + -ment.

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indite

v.

late 14c., "put down in writing," from Old French enditer, from Vulgar Latin *indictare, from Latin in- "in, into, on, upon" (see in- (2)) + dictare "to declare" (see dictate). The same word as indict but retaining a French form. Related: Indited; inditing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper