Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Write \Write\, v. t. [imp. {Wrote}; p. p. {Written}; Archaic
   imp. & p. p. {Writ}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Writing}.] [OE. writen,
   AS. wr[=i]tan; originally, to scratch, to score; akin to OS.
   wr[=i]tan to write, to tear, to wound, D. rijten to tear, to
   rend, G. reissen, OHG. r[=i]zan, Icel. r[=i]ta to write,
   Goth. writs a stroke, dash, letter. Cf. {Race} tribe,
   lineage.]
   1. To set down, as legible characters; to form the conveyance
      of meaning; to inscribe on any material by a suitable
      instrument; as, to write the characters called letters; to
      write figures.

   2. To set down for reading; to express in legible or
      intelligible characters; to inscribe; as, to write a deed;
      to write a bill of divorcement; hence, specifically, to
      set down in an epistle; to communicate by letter.

            Last night she enjoined me to write some lines to
            one she loves.                        --Shak.

            I chose to write the thing I durst not speak To her
            I loved.                              --Prior.

   3. Hence, to compose or produce, as an author.

            I purpose to write the history of England from the
            accession of King James the Second down to a time
            within the memory of men still living. --Macaulay.

   4. To impress durably; to imprint; to engrave; as, truth
      written on the heart.

   5. To make known by writing; to record; to prove by one's own
      written testimony; -- often used reflexively.

            He who writes himself by his own inscription is like
            an ill painter, who, by writing on a shapeless
            picture which he hath drawn, is fain to tell
            passengers what shape it is, which else no man could
            imagine.                              --Milton.

   {To write to}, to communicate by a written document to.

   {Written laws}, laws deriving their force from express
      legislative enactment, as contradistinguished from
      unwritten, or common, law. See the Note under {Law}, and
      {Common law}, under {Common}, a.

Writing \Writ"ing\, n.
   1. The act or art of forming letters and characters on paper,
      wood, stone, or other material, for the purpose of
      recording the ideas which characters and words express, or
      of communicating them to others by visible signs.

   2. Anything written or printed; anything expressed in
      characters or letters; as:
      (a) Any legal instrument, as a deed, a receipt, a bond, an
          agreement, or the like.
      (b) Any written composition; a pamphlet; a work; a
          literary production; a book; as, the writings of
          Addison.
      (c) An inscription.

                And Pilate wrote a title . . . And the writing
                was, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.
                                                  --John xix.
                                                  19.

   3. Handwriting; chirography.

   {Writing book}, a book for practice in penmanship.

   {Writing desk}, a desk with a sloping top for writing upon;
      also, a case containing writing materials, and used in a
      similar manner.

   {Writing lark} (Zo["o]l.), the European yellow-hammer; -- so
      called from the curious irregular lines on its eggs.
      [Prov. Eng.]

   {Writing machine}. Same as {Typewriter}.

   {Writing master}, one who teaches the art of penmanship.

   {Writing obligatory} (Law), a bond.

   {Writing paper}, paper intended for writing upon with ink,
      usually finished with a smooth surface, and sized.

   {Writing school}, a school for instruction in penmanship.

   {Writing table}, a table fitted or used for writing upon.

Source : WordNet®

writing
     n 1: the act of creating written works; "writing was a form of
          therapy for him"; "it was a matter of disputed
          authorship" [syn: {authorship}, {composition}, {penning}]
     2: the work of a writer; anything expressed in letters of the
        alphabet (especially when considered from the point of
        view of style and effect); "the writing in her novels is
        excellent"; "that editorial was a fine piece of writing"
        [syn: {written material}, {piece of writing}]
     3: (usually plural) the collected work of an author; "the idea
        occurs with increasing frequency in Hemingway's writings"
     4: letters or symbols written or imprinted on a surface to
        represent the sounds or words of a language; "he turned
        the paper over so the writing wouldn't show"; "the
        doctor's writing was illegible"
     5: the activity of putting something in written form; "she did
        the thinking while he did the writing" [syn: {committal to
        writing}]