German edit

Etymology 1 edit

From um (around, re-) +‎ schreiben (to write). Probably after Latin trānscrībere in the sense of “transcribe”, perhaps also in some other senses.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈʊmˌʃraɪ̯bən/, [ˈʔʊmˌʃʁaɪ̯bm̩], [-bən]
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: um‧schrei‧ben

Verb edit

umschreiben (class 1 strong, third-person singular present schreibt um, past tense schrieb um, past participle umgeschrieben, auxiliary haben)

  1. to rewrite (modify a text)
    Synonyms: ändern, neu schreiben
  2. to transcribe; to transliterate (convert to another script)
    Synonyms: transkribieren, transliterieren
  3. to make over; to sign over (officially give property to someone else)
    Synonyms: überschreiben, übertragen
Conjugation edit
Derived terms edit

Etymology 2 edit

um- +‎ schreiben

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˌʊmˈʃraɪ̯bən/, [ˌʔʊmˈʃʁaɪ̯bm̩], [-bən]
  • (file)

Verb edit

umschreiben (class 1 strong, third-person singular present umschreibt, past tense umschrieb, past participle umschrieben, auxiliary haben)

  1. to try to express or explain in words; to define; to verbalise
    Synonyms: bestimmen, darlegen, definieren, erklären, umgrenzen
  2. to state (something) in such a way as to avoid something; to paraphrase; to use circumlocution
    Synonyms: umgehen, umschiffen, paraphrasieren
    einen heiklen Punkt geschickt umschreibensubtly to veer around a delicate matter
    ein unanständiges Wort umschreibento paraphrase an obscene word
Conjugation edit
Derived terms edit

Further reading edit