verbal
Syllabification: (ver·bal)
Pronunciation: /ˈvərbəl/
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Definition of verbal
adjective
noun
GrammarOrigin:
late 15th century (describing a person who deals with words rather than things): from French, or from late Latin verbalis, from verbum 'word' (see verb)
It is sometimes said that the true sense of the adjective verbal is ‘of or concerned with words,’ whether spoken or written (as in verbal abuse), and that it should not be used to mean ‘spoken rather than written’ (as in a verbal agreement). For this strictly ‘spoken’ sense, it is said that the adjective oral should be used instead. In practice, however, verbal is well established in this sense and, even in legal contexts, a verbal agreement is understood to mean a contract whose accepted terms have been spoken rather than written.