ep·i·gram

[ep-i-gram]
noun
1.
any witty, ingenious, or pointed saying tersely expressed.
2.
epigrammatic expression: Oscar Wilde had a genius for epigram.
3.
a short, often satirical poem dealing concisely with a single subject and usually ending with a witty or ingenious turn of thought.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin epigramma < Greek epígramma inscription, epigram. See epi-, -gram1

epigram, epigraph, epitaph, epithet.


1. witticism, quip, bon mot.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To epigram
00:10
Epigram is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a calculus or concretion found in the stomach or intestines of certain animals, esp. ruminants, formerly reputed to be an effective remedy for poison.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
Collins
World English Dictionary
epigram (ˈɛpɪˌɡræm) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a witty, often paradoxical remark, concisely expressed
2.  a short, pungent, and often satirical poem, esp one having a witty and ingenious ending
 
[C15: from Latin epigramma, from Greek: inscription, from epigraphein to write upon, from graphein to write]
 
epigram'matic
 
adj
 
epigram'matically
 
adv

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

epigram
1530s, from Fr. épigramme, from L. epigramma, from Gk. epigramma "an inscription, epitaph, epigram," from epigraphein "to write on, inscribe" (see epigraph). Related: Epigrammatic.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

epigram definition


Any pithy, witty saying or short poem. An aphorism can serve as an epigram, if it is brief.

Note: Several authors are noted for their epigrams, including Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde. One of Wilde's epigrams is “I can resist everything except temptation.”
Note: Two other words are similar: an epigraph is usually an inscription, as on a statue; an epitaph can be such an inscription or it can be a brief literary note commemorating a dead person.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
In fairness, Nehru should be credited with one classic epigram.
In a Greek epigram she is described as she who has given birth to.
There's only one flavorful epigram in the entire pastiche.
To adapt a hoary but still valid epigram, requirements are far too important to
  be left to the requirements officers.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT