Etymograph

English

postscriptum

Postscriptum comes from Latin postscrībō ‘to write after or under’, from Proto-Italic *skreiβō ‘to carve’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kréybʰeti.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kréybʰeti1reconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*skreiβō1‘to carve’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscrībō1‘write’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpostscrībō2as postscriptum‘to write after or under’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1820postscriptum2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin postscribo
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English postscriptum
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1820, Humphry Martial pseudonym, Sir Jehu Face to Sir Cordovan Bristlemood: “Meanwhile, I remain—Ever yours, / Jehu Face. / Postscriptums…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*(s)kréybʰetiWiktionary, Latin postscriboreconstructed
  2. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*skreiβōWiktionary, Latin postscribo‘to carve’reconstructed
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEscrībōWiktionary, Latin postscribo‘write’
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEpostscrībōWiktionary, English postscriptumas postscriptum‘to write after or under’
  5. Englishearliest quotation 1820postscriptumWiktionary, English postscriptum. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1820, Humphry Martial pseudonym, Sir Jehu Face to Sir Cordovan Bristlemood: “Meanwhile, I remain—Ever yours, / Jehu Face. / Postscriptums…”

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *(s)kréybʰeti

transcription, 25 more

through Proto-Italic *skreiβō ‘to carve’

prescription, transcript, scripture, inscription, shriver, conscription, transcribe, ascribe, scriptural, nondescript, conscript, inscribe, descript, 26 more

through Latin scrībō ‘write’

description, script, prescribe, scribe, scribble, shrift, scrivener, 37 more

Today it means

noun A thing that has been written afterwards; something appended in writing.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “postscriptum”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin postscribo. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *(s)kréybʰeti / postscriptum

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