subscription n.

early 15c., "to sign at the bottom of a document," from Latin subscribere "write, write underneath, sign one's name; register," also figuratively "assent, agree to, approve," from sub "underneath" (see sub-) + scribere "to write" (from PIE root *skribh- "to cut"). The meaning "give one's consent" (by subscribing one's name) first recorded mid-15c.; that of "contribute money to" 1630s; and that of "become a regular buyer of a publication" 1711, all originally literal. Related: Subscribed; subscribing.

1610s, "small piece of paper with writing on it, a written slip," apparently a corruption of script (n.). In the commercial use, "a certificate of a right to receive something" (especially a stock share), 1762, in this sense probably shortened from (sub)scrip(tion) receipt (see subscription). Originally "receipt for a portion of a loan subscribed;" the meaning "certificate issued as currency" is recorded by 1790. In U.S. history, "fractional paper money" (by 1889).