Concerned with the words, rather than the substance of a text.
3
Consisting of words only.
We subjoin an engraving […] which will give the reader a far better notion of the structure than any verbal description could convey to the mind.1864, Henry Mayhew, German Life and Manners as Seen in Saxony at the Present:
It was not a verbal remark, but a proceeding in dumb-show1861, Charles Dickens, Great Expectations:
4
Expressly spoken rather than written; oral.
a verbal contract
a verbal testimony
2 more examples
You can't have verbal communication with a man in New South Wales, you know.1861, Charles Dickens, Great Expectations:
I am not speaking of the verbal use of the term 'Fascist'. I am speaking of what I have seen in print.1944, George Orwell, “What is Fascism?”, in Tribune:
5
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences Derived from, or having the nature of a verb.
You put me to forget a lady’s manners By being so verbal; and learn now, for all, That I, which know my heart, do here pronounce By th’ very truth of it, I care not for you1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene iii]:
Etymology From Old French verbal, from Late Latin verbālis (“belonging to a word”). Equivalent to verb + -al.
1
Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences A verb form which does not function as a predicate, or a word derived from a verb. In English, infinitives, participles and gerunds are verbals.
They were convicted on the evidence of an agent provocateur named Richard Seary, backed up by police verbals from three police officers who gave evidence of six verbals in which the three accused were supposed to have admitted their guilt.1982, New South Wales. Parliament, Parliamentary Debates, page 2496:
We'd give him a bit of verbal, out would come the bouncers, chucking their weight about, and it would all end in a right tear-up.2013, Lenny McLean, The Guv'nor:
verbal
verb
Etymology From Old French verbal, from Late Latin verbālis (“belonging to a word”). Equivalent to verb + -al.
1
Australia, UK To allege (usually falsely) that someone has made an oral admission.
The problem of 'verballing' is unlikely to disappear, whatever the legal status of the person detained.1982, John A. Andrews, Human Rights in Criminal Procedure: A Comparative Study, BRILL, →ISBN, page 128:
Condren had always claimed that he was assaulted and verballed by police over the murder he had supposedly confessed to committing. Specifically, Condren claimed that he had been subjected to assault and intimidation prior to making a police record of interview, that the record of interview was largely fabricated by police, and that the oral admissions which police claimed he had made prior to the record of interview were also fabricated.2001, Chris Cunneen, Conflict, Politics and Crime: Aboriginal Communities and the Police, Allen & Unwin, →ISBN, page 116:
3 more examples
"Moreover, given the risk of verballing, it is by no means apparent that it is in the interests of justice that the prosecution have the benefit of admissions that are made on occasions when recordings are impracticable."2004, Jeremy Gans, Andrew Palmer, Australian Principles of Evidence, Routledge Cavendish, →ISBN, page 504:
Kelvin Condren maintained his innocence, claiming that he was 'verballed' in his police record of interview (so they were someone else's words not his).2019, Kate Burridge, Tonya N. Stebbins, For the love of language: An Introduction to Linguistics, page 305:
As the necessary ingredient of an intention to commit an offence usually came from the mouth of the suspect himself, it was not difficult to make an arrest if the suspect was 'verballed'. A 'verbal' consisted of an unequivocal oral admission of guilt made to a police officer on the street, which, later on, the police officer transcribed into his notebook. It is called a 'verbal' if the suspect later denies making the incriminating remark.2020, Inigo Bing, Populism on Trial: What Happens When Trust in Law Breaks Down: