October 02, 2009
- verbatim (adverb or adjective)
- \ver-BAY-tim\
- What does it mean?
- : in the same words : word for word
- How do you use it?
- Each student in Russell's class was assigned to memorize a poem and then recite it verbatim to the class.
- Are you a word wiz?
"Verbatim" developed from the much older Latin word "verbum." "Verbum" is also an ancestor of other words such as "verb" and "verbal." Based on the modern words that come from it, what do you think "verbum" originally meant?
Take our word for it: "verbum" means "word." That Latin root is the ancestor of many modern terms, including "verbatim," "verb," "verbal," "proverb," and "verbose" (that means "wordy"). The Latin root is even related to the parent terms that gave us the word "word" itself. "Verbatim" first began to be used as a word in English in the fifteen century.
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