[gruh-fee-tee] 
| 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. |
| 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. |
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)