* "de-": A prefix meaning "down, off, from," indicating a direction or separation.
* "scribere": Meaning "to write, to draw, to engrave."
Therefore, "describere" literally means "to write down, to draw out, to depict." This original sense of "describing" something as a written or drawn representation is still reflected in the modern English word.
Over time, the meaning of "describe" expanded to encompass any verbal or written account of something, even without the act of writing or drawing. It became about capturing the essence of something through words.