From Latin 'describere' (to write down) — 'scribere' traces to PIE *skreibh- (to scratch). Writing was originally carving.
To give a detailed account in words of something or someone.
From Latin 'dēscrībere' (to write down, to copy, to mark out), from 'dē-' (down, fully) + 'scrībere' (to write, to scratch, to draw), from PIE *skreibh- (to cut, to scratch, to incise). The original Latin sense was physical — to write down, to sketch, to trace an outline. The shift from 'write down' to 'give a verbal account of' happened in English. The same root 'scrībere' gives 'scribe,' 'script,' 'inscribe,' 'prescribe,' 'subscribe,' 'manuscript,' and 'scripture.' Key roots: dē- (Latin: "down, fully"), *skreibh- (Proto-Indo-European: "to cut, to scratch").
Writing was originally scratching. Latin 'scrībere' (to write) comes from PIE *skreibh- (to cut, to incise), because the earliest writing was carved into stone, clay, or wax. German 'schreiben' (to write) is a direct cognate. So when you 'describe' something, you are etymologically 'scratching it down