verbatim

English

WOTD – 11 December 2007

Etymology

Attested in English since 1481 (therefore considered a Middle English derivation by some): from Medieval Latin verbātim (“word for word”), from Latin verbum (“word”) + -ātim (adverbial suffix).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /vɜːˈbeɪ.tɪm/
• (US) IPA^(key): /vɝˈbeɪ.tɪm/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

Adverb

verbatim (not comparable)

1. Word for word; in exactly the same words as were used originally.

   I have copied his speech verbatim, so this is exactly what he said, word for word.

   • 1971, Denis Mahon, Studies in Seicento Art and Theory, page 317:

     […] in several instances Mancini’s text is virtually reproduced verbatim by Bellori.¹²⁰

2. (obsolete) Orally; verbally.
   • 1591 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Sixt”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]:

     I […] am not able
     Verbatim to rehearse the method of my pen

Synonyms

Synonyms

• in so many words
• word for word
• by heart
• wordmeal

Derived terms

• verbatim et literatim

Related terms

Related terms

• gradatim
• literatim
• seriatim

Translations

word for word

• Arabic: حَرْفًا بِحَرْفٍ (ḥarfan bi-ḥarfin), حَرْفِيًّا (ḥarfiyyan)
• Armenian: բառ առ բառ (baṙ aṙ baṙ), բառացիորեն (hy) (baṙacʻioren)
• Azerbaijani: eynən
• Bashkir: һүҙмә-һүҙ (hüźmə-hüź)
• Belarusian: дасло́ўна (daslóŭna), літара́льна (litarálʹna), сло́ва ў сло́ва (slóva ŭ slóva)
• Bulgarian: досло́вно (bg) (doslóvno), буква́лно (bg) (bukválno)
• Catalan: mot a mot
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 逐字地 (zh) (zhúzì de), 一字一字地 (yīzìyīzì de), 一字不差地 (zh) (yīzìbùchà de)

• Czech: doslovně, slovo od slova
• Danish: ordret, ord for ord, ord til andet
• Dutch: woord voor woord, letterlijk (nl)
• Finnish: sananmukaisesti, sanatarkasti, kirjaimellisesti (fi), sanasta sanaan
• French: texto (fr), mot pour mot (fr), littéralement (fr), mot à mot (fr)
• Georgian: სიტყვასიტყვით (ka) (siṭq̇vasiṭq̇vit), ზედმიწევნით (zedmic̣evnit), ზუსტად (zusṭad)
• German: wortgetreu (de), wortwörtlich (de), Wort für Wort
• Greek: αυτολεξεί (el) (aftolexeí)
• Hebrew: מילה במילה (milá bemilá)
• Hindi: शब्दश (śabdaś)
• Hungarian: szóról szóra
• Icelandic: orðrétt, orð fyrir orð
• Ido: vortope (io)
• Indonesian: kata demi kata
• Irish: focal ar fhocal
• Italian: parola per parola
• Japanese: 一語一語 (いちごいちご, ichigoichigo), 逐語的に (ちくごてきに, chikugoteki ni)
• Kazakh: сөзбе-сөз (sözbe-söz)
• Korean: 말 그대로의 (mal geudaero-ui), 글자 그대로의 (geulja geudaero-ui)
• Kyrgyz: сөзмө-сөз (sözmö-söz)
• Latin: verbum verbō, ipsis litteris
• Macedonian: дословно (doslovno)
• Malayalam: പദാനുപദം (ml) (padānupadaṁ)
• Northern Sami: sánis sátnái
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ordrett

  Nynorsk: ordrett

• Old English: gewyrdelīce
• Persian: کلمه‌به‌کلمه (kalame-be-kalame), عِیناً (fa) ('eynan)
• Polish: słowo w słowo, dosłownie (pl)
• Portuguese: à letra, palavra por palavra, ipsis litteris (pt), verbatim (pt), literalmente (pt)
• Russian: досло́вно (ru) (doslóvno), сло́во в сло́во (ru) (slóvo v slóvo), буква́льно (ru) (bukválʹno)
• Scottish Gaelic: facal air an fhacal
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Roman: doslovce, doslovno (sh)

• Slovak: doslovne
• Slovene: dobesedno
• Spanish: literalmente (es), textualmente, palabra por palabra,
• Swedish: ordagrant (sv), ord för ord (sv), verbatim (sv), ordagrann (sv)
• Tajik: айнан (aynan), ҳарф ба ҳарф (harf ba harf), калима ба калима (kalima ba kalima)
• Tatar: сүзгә-сүз (süzgä-süz)
• Turkish: aynen (tr), harfi harfine, kelimesi kelimesine (tr), motamot (tr), tıpa tıp (tr), sözü sözüne
• Ukrainian: дослі́вно (doslívno), буква́льно (uk) (bukválʹno), сло́во в сло́во (slóvo v slóvo)
• Urdu: خوبخو (xu-ba-xu)
• Uzbek: soʻzma-soʻz (uz), aynan (uz)
• Vietnamese: đúng (vi) nguyên văn (vi)
• Welsh: gair am air
• Yoruba: atenuso

Adjective

verbatim (not comparable)

1. (of a document) Corresponding with the original word for word.
   • Date unknown: Joint Committee on Printing Congress of the United States, General Statement of Procedure for Verbatim Reporting of Proceedings in Senate Chamber, page five:
   • 1917, Andreĭ Ivanovich Shingarev, Russia and Her Allies: Extract from the Verbatim Report of the Imperial Duma, IVth Session, 16th Sitting, page 3:
   • 2002, Michael Quim Patton, Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods, page 381:

     Ironically, verbatim note taking can interfere with listening attentively.

2. (of a person) Able to take down a speech word for word, especially in shorthand.
   • U.S. Department of Labor's description of court reporter's job:

     Some States require voice writers to pass a test and to earn State licensure. As a substitute for State licensure, the National Verbatim Reporters Association offers three national certifications to voice writers: Certified Verbatim Reporter (CVR), the Certificate of Merit (CM), and Real-Time Verbatim Reporter (RVR). Earning these certifications is sufficient to be licensed in States where the voice method of court reporting is permitted.

Synonyms

• ((of a document) faithful to its original): word for word, to the letter

Derived terms

• nonverbatim
• verbatimness

Translations

of a document: word for word

• Bashkir: һүҙмә-һүҙ (hüźmə-hüź)
• Bulgarian: дословен (dosloven)
• Czech: doslovný (cs) m
• Finnish: sananmukainen, sanatarkka, kirjaimellinen (fi)
• Georgian: სიტყვასიტყვითი (siṭq̇vasiṭq̇viti), ზედმიწევნითი (zedmic̣evniti), ზუსტი (zusṭi)
• Greek: κατά λέξη (katá léxi)
• Icelandic: orðréttur (is) m, orðrétt f or n
• Norwegian: ordrett
• Portuguese: verbatim (pt), palavra por palavra
• Russian: досло́вный (ru) (doslóvnyj)
• Slovene: dobeseden
• Spanish: literal (es)
• Swedish: ordagrann (sv)

of a person: skilled in faithful transcription

• Finnish: pikakirjoitustaitoinen

Noun

verbatim (plural verbatims)

1. A word-for-word report of a speech.

Translations

word-for-word report

• Finnish: sanatarkka lainaus
• French: verbatim (fr) m
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: ordrett nedtegnelse m, ordrett referat n

See also

• ipsissima verba

Anagrams

• ambivert

French

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

verbatim m (plural verbatim)

1. verbatim

Adverb

verbatim

1. verbatim

Latin

Etymology

From verbum (“word”) +‎ -ātim.

Pronunciation

• (Classical) IPA^(key): /u̯erˈbaː.tim/, [u̯ɛrˈbäːt̪ɪ̃ˑ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /verˈba.tim/, [verˈbäːt̪im]

Adverb

verbātim (not comparable)

1. verbatim, word for word

Descendants

• English: verbatim

References

• verbatim in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

Portuguese

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin verbatim.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /weʁˈba.t͡ʃim/ [weɦˈba.t͡ʃim], /ˈweʁ.ba.t͡ʃim/ [ˈweɦ.ba.t͡ʃim]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /weʁˈba.t͡ʃim/ [weɦˈba.t͡ʃim], /ˈweʁ.ba.t͡ʃim/ [ˈweɦ.ba.t͡ʃim]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /weɾˈba.t͡ʃim/, /ˈweɾ.ba.t͡ʃim/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /weʁˈba.t͡ʃim/, /ˈweʁ.ba.t͡ʃim/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /weɻˈba.t͡ʃim/, /ˈweɻ.ba.t͡ʃim/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /weɾˈba.tim/ [weɾˈβa.tim], /ˈweɾ.ba.tim/ [ˈweɾ.βa.tim]

• Rhymes: -ĩ
• Hyphenation: ver‧ba‧tim

Adverb

verbatim (not comparable)

1. verbatim (word for word)

   Synonyms: à letra, palavra por palavra, ipsis litteris

2. verbatim, literally (in exactly the same words)

Adjective

verbatim m or f (plural verbatins)

1. verbatim (that corresponds word for word to the original text)

Further reading

• “verbatim” in Dicionário infopédia da Língua Portuguesa. Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2024.
• “verbatim” in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa.
• “verbatim” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.