script
SKRIPT
/skrɪpt/
The written text of a play, movie, or broadcast, including dialogue and stage directions.
Represents the foundational text that guides the performance, cast, and crew.
The story behind the word. Derived from Latin 'scriptum', the neuter past participle of 'scribere' (to write). Medieval scribes copied texts onto parchment, and early theater companies adopted the term for written prompt-books.
Word relationships
- screenplay: Screenplay refers specifically to film scripts, whereas script applies broadly to plays, films, and broadcasts.
- libretto: Libretto refers specifically to the written text of an opera or musical.
- improvisation: Improvisation is unscripted performance made up spontaneously.
Commonly confused with
- transcript: A transcript is a written record of spoken words after they occurred, while a script is written before performance.
Word family
- scriptwriter (noun): A person who writes scripts.
- scripted (adjective): Pre-planned or written in advance.
Collocations
- write a script
- stick to the script
- script reading
- shooting script
Idioms & expressions
- flip the script
- stick to the script
Example sentences
- "The director spent three months revising the original script to improve the pacing." Film production
- "Actors are expected to have memorized the script before full rehearsals begin." Theatrical rehearsal
Memory hook
SCRIPture is sacred text; a SCRIPT is sacred text for actors. The written blueprints of a performance.
When not to use
Do not use to describe a published prose novel meant strictly for general reading.
Fun facts
- In Elizabethan theater, actors rarely received full scripts; they were given 'sides' containing only their lines and cues.
Related words
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