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graffiti - 7 dictionary results
graf⋅fi⋅ti
[gruh-fee-tee]
–noun
| 1. | pl. of graffito. |
| 2. | (used with a plural verb ) markings, as initials, slogans, or drawings, written, spray-painted, or sketched on a sidewalk, wall of a building or public restroom, or the like: These graffiti are evidence of the neighborhood's decline. |
| 3. | (used with a singular verb ) such markings as a whole or as constituting a particular group: Not much graffiti appears around here these days. |
Origin:
1850–55; < It, pl. of graffito incised inscription or design, deriv. with -ito -ite 2 of graffiare to scratch, perh. influenced by presumed L *graphīre to write; both prob. deriv. of L graphium stylus < Gk grapheîon; cf. graphic, grapho-, graft 1
1850–55; < It, pl. of graffito incised inscription or design, deriv. with -ito -ite 2 of graffiare to scratch, perh. influenced by presumed L *graphīre to write; both prob. deriv. of L graphium stylus < Gk grapheîon; cf. graphic, grapho-, graft 1

Related forms:
graf⋅fi⋅tist, noun
Usage note:
In formal speech and writing graffiti takes a plural verb. In less formal contexts it is sometimes considered a mass noun and is used with a singular verb. The singular graffito is found mostly in archaeological and other technical writing.
In formal speech and writing graffiti takes a plural verb. In less formal contexts it is sometimes considered a mass noun and is used with a singular verb. The singular graffito is found mostly in archaeological and other technical writing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To graffiti
graf·fi·ti (grə-fē'tē) n. (used with a sing. or pl. verb) Plural of graffito. [Italian, pl. of graffito; see graffito.] |
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Graffiti
Graf*fi"ti\, n. pl. [It., pl. of graffito scratched] Inscriptions, figure drawings, etc., found on the walls of ancient sepulchers or ruins, as in the Catacombs, or at Pompeii.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : graffiti
Spanish:
graffiti, pintada,
German:
das Graffiti,
Japanese:
落書き
graffiti
1851, for ancient wall inscriptions found in the ruins of Pompeii, from It. graffiti, pl. of graffito "a scribbling," a dim. formation from graffio "a scratch or scribble," from graffiare "to scribble." Sense extended 1877 to recently made crude drawings and scribbling.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Graffiti
Handwriting recognition software for the Newton and Zoomer which recognises symbols that aren't necessarily letters. This gives greater speed and accuracy. It was written by Berkeley Softworks.
(1995-01-24)
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing, © 1993-2007 Denis Howe
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