英文
えいぶん · eibun · JLPT N2 · noun
english
🇬🇧📝 英文 = English (英) + writing (文): text written in English
英 is short for 英国 (eikoku, England), as in 英語 (eigo, English language). 文 means sentence or writing, as in 作文 (sakubun, essay). So 英文 is writing in English, while 英語 is the English language itself.
文 — pictograph of crossed lines on a chest
文 originally depicted a person with patterns or tattoos drawn on the chest, shown as crossed or interwoven lines. From this image of decorative markings, it came to mean 'pattern,' then 'writing,' 'script,' and 'literature' or 'culture.' The modern senses all trace back to the idea of meaningful marks.