Dictionary
Thesaurus
Reference
Translate
Web
Related Searches
on Ask.com
Synonyms
Nearby Entries
epigram - 5 dictionary results

ep⋅i⋅gram

  [ep-i-gram]
Use epigram in a Sentence
–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 ME < L epigramma < Gk epígramma inscription, epigram. See epi-, -gram 1

Synonyms:
1. witticism, quip, bon mot.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To epigram
ep·i·gram   (ěp'ĭ-grām')   
n.  
  1. A short, witty poem expressing a single thought or observation.
  2. A concise, clever, often paradoxical statement. See Synonyms at saying.
  3. Epigrammatic discourse or expression.

[Middle English, from Old French epigramme, from Latin epigramma, from Greek, from epigraphein, to mark the surface, inscribe : epi-, epi- + graphein, to write; see gerbh- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Epigram

Ep"i*gram\, n. [L. epigramma, fr. Gr. ? inscription, epigram, fr. ? to write upon, 'epi` upon + ? to write: cf. F. ['e]pigramme. See Graphic.]

1. A short poem treating concisely and pointedly of a single thought or event. The modern epigram is so contrived as to surprise the reader with a witticism or ingenious turn of thought, and is often satirical in character.

Dost thou think I care for a satire or an epigram? --Shak.

Note: Epigrams were originally inscription on tombs, statues, temples, triumphal arches, etc.

2. An effusion of wit; a bright thought tersely and sharply expressed, whether in verse or prose.

3. The style of the epigram.

Antithesis, i. e., bilateral stroke, is the soul of epigram in its later and technical signification. --B. Cracroft.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Cite This Source
Language Translation for : epigram
Spanish: lema,
German: der Spruch,
Japanese: つじうら
More Translations »

epigram

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

epigram 
1538, from Fr. épigramme, from L. epigramma, from Gk. epigramma "an inscription, epitaph, epigram," from epigraphein "to write on, inscribe" (see epigraph).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Search another word or see epigram on Thesaurus | Reference