It’s election time in Canada. Or at least it’s rumours-of-an-early-election-call time in Canada. And many, many people have been talking about writs being dropped.

As a public service to our readers, colleagues and the many delightful contributors to our comments sections who possess charmingly granular knowledge of the arcana of our political system, we hereby clarify the nomenclature around writs and the dropping thereof.

First and most important: It’s not “writ” singular, it’s “writs” plural. And they’re not dropped, they’re issued.

There are 338 individual writs to be issued, not one gigantic one. So when you hear and read phrases like “the writ will be dropped,” or “the writ is expected to be dropped this Sunday,” know that 338 writs will be dropped.

Only they won’t be dropped, they’ll be issued.

“Writs are issued. It’s plural because there are 338 elections being held at the same time. Candidates run – not political parties,” said former Chief Electoral Officer Jean-Pierre Kingsley.

Elections Canada, which Kingsley once ran, also told iPolitics that writs are issued — not dropped — and they’re not sure why reporters use the phrase “drop the writ.”

The term “drop the writ” appears in the Oxford Canadian Dictionary as a Canadianism, but there is no information on its origin, according to Kristi Thompson, a research librarian at the Library of Parliament.

Kinglsey suggested it may be because prior to fixed election dates, there was an element of surprise when the writs were issued. In other words, writs being dropped sounds more exciting than issued.

In 2011, journalist Brian Lathham who wrote for the National Post at the time, also sought to find out the origin of “drop the writ.” He found that the 1989 Oxford English Dictionary says writ goes back to 1122, the first reference for “drop the writ” he could find was in the April 7, 1982.

“Debates of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia include the phrase ‘in the event that an election is called or the writ is dropped.’ There may have been earlier uses but they can’t have been too much earlier. The first use in the Toronto Star was in a July 16, 1988 article: “Meanwhile the Liberals … dared Mulroney to drop the writ immediately,” Latham wrote, noting that the use of the word “drop” makes no sense.

“In fact, in 1998, Nova Scotia elections staff recommended that the incorrect “drop the writ” itself be “dropped” from the language. Without proof, I speculated it was a shortening of the words “draw up.” To draw up a writ makes a lot more sense but drop a writ is a lot easier to say,” Latham wrote.

So after the writs are signed, sealed and delivered what happens? Kingsley pointed out that’s exactly the order once writs are issued.

“When I was CEO I signed each one individually, didn’t use a stamp, then they’re sent to the Returning Officer in each riding. That legal document triggers the election in each riding,” said Kingsley.

Once the election is over, the Returning Officer returns the document to Elections Canada, Kinglsey said.