Why is it "description" but "describe" (b and p)?

Question

I've just wondered by it is "description", but "to describe". It looks as if "to descripe" would be a more consistant choice. Is there any other explanation besides "this is how it is written for years"?

edit: Or alternatively "to describe" and "describtion".

Actually I think it likelier that it was originally "describtion", but "-bt-" is a very rare cluster in English and so it mutated to the easier-to-say "-pt-". — Hellion, Jan 22 '16 at 21:07
Latin had scriba ("official writer"), which Merriam-Webster says is the source of scribe, and scriptum ("thing written"), which MW says is the source of script. So the divergence in b/pt spelling between scrib and script occurred before English came onto the scene. — Sven Yargs, Jan 22 '16 at 21:23
Let's see how many more we can think of. I'll start with absorb and absorption. — WS2, Jan 22 '16 at 21:53
Seems to me that it's pretty standard in L for a voiced stop to devoice or assimilate before a voiceless stop: agere/actum, ad+tangere>attingere, ad+parere>apparere, ad+capere>accipere — StoneyB on hiatus, Jan 22 '16 at 22:49
@Hellion. It did not happen in English. It happened already in Latin. — fdb, Jan 22 '16 at 23:38
Related: Why does the 'b' in absorb change to a 'p' in absorption? — herisson, Nov 13 '17 at 04:46

score 2 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 23 '16 at 06:30

2

The Latin verb forms are scribo, scripsi, scriptum (I write, I have written, written). b before s and t becomes ps and pt because a soft consonant and a hard consonant don't go together well.

answered Jan 23 '16 at 06:30

rogermue

13,878

score 1 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 22 '16 at 21:19

"description (n.) late 14c., from Old French description (12c.) and directly from Latin descriptionem (nominative descriptio) "representation, description, copy," noun of action from past participle stem of describere "write down, transcribe, copy, sketch," from de- "down" (see de-) + scribere "write" (see script (n.)).

and

"descriptive (adj.) 1751, from Late Latin descriptivus, from descript-, past participle stem of describere (see description). Related: Descriptively; descriptiveness.

and

"describe (v.) early 13c., descriven, from Old French descrivre, descrire (13c.), from Latin describere "to write down, copy; sketch, represent" (see description). Reconstructed with Latin spelling 16c. Related: Describable; described, describes, describing."

All from: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=description

Why is it "description" but "describe" (b and p)?

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