# description

Pronunciation: say "di-SKRIP-shuhn" /dɪˈskɹɪpʃən/

## Noun

1. An account or representation of something in words, setting out its essential qualities.
   - Simple: An account in words that tells what someone or something is like.
   - _The novel opens with a vivid description of the windswept coastline._
   - _Witnesses gave detailed descriptions of the suspects to the police._
2. The combination of features by which a person or thing can be identified.
   - Simple: The set of features that helps you know who or what something is.
   - _Customs officers flagged a bag that matched the description in the alert._
   - _The stray cat fit the description posted on the bulletin board._
3. The act or process of describing something, as distinct from the account it produces: putting it into words, or marking out its shape with lines or signs.
   - Simple: The act of telling or showing what something is like.
   - _The novel has little plot, but its long passages of description bring the city to life._
   - _Accurate description of symptoms helps doctors reach a diagnosis._
4. A type or variety of something, found mostly in set phrases such as of every description and of any description.
   - Simple: A kind or type of thing, used mostly in phrases like of every description.
   - _Boats of every description crowded the harbor for the festival._
   - _The street fair drew visitors of all descriptions, from toddlers to retirees._

## Other meanings

- (noun) A formal scientific documentation of a taxon, written to introduce it to science.
- (noun) A systematic survey describing the structure and usage of a particular language or variety.
- (noun) The practice of recording and describing how language is actually used in a community, rather than laying down rules for correct usage.

## Origin

Latin dēscrīptiō, a noun of action from dēscrībō ('I describe'), gave Old French description, and the two together are the source of Middle English descripcioun. In English terms it is describe plus the suffix -tion.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/description (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).