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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.] |
| graf·fi·to (grə-fē'tō) n. pl. graf·fi·ti (-tē) A drawing or inscription made on a wall or other surface, usually so as to be seen by the public. Often used in the plural. [Italian, diminutive of graffio, a scratching, scribble, probably from graffiare, to scratch, scribble, probably from Vulgar Latin *graphiāre, to write with a stylus, from Latin graphium, stylus, from Greek grapheion, graphion, from graphein, to write; see gerbh- in Indo-European roots.] Usage Note: The word graffiti is a plural noun in Italian. In English graffiti is far more common than the singular form graffito and is mainly used as a singular noun in much the same way data is. When the reference is to a particular inscription (as in There was a bold graffiti on the wall), the form graffito would be etymologically correct but might strike some readers as pedantic outside an archaeological context. There is no substitute for the singular use of graffiti when the word is used as a mass noun to refer to inscriptions in general or to the related social phenomenon. The sentence Graffiti is a major problem for the Transit Authority Police cannot be reworded Graffito is ... (since graffito can refer only to a particular inscription) or Graffiti are ... (which suggests that the police problem involves only the physical marks and not the larger issue of vandalism). In such contexts, the use of graffiti as a singular is justified by both utility and widespread precedent. |
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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