epigraph
- noun
- /ˈɛpɪˌɡræf/
:
epígrafe
- (Three voices together speak the epigraph, then one by one the separate parts.) PREFORMATTED TABLE FIRE
Examples
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Few of the tombs in this section—and, indeed, in the whole cemetery—have an epigraph.
Academic text (2009) -
The quote from Wilde that starts this article and stopped me from reading it is not an epigraph (an inscription on a building or at the beginning of a book) but an epigram (a witty, concise, and pointed statement).
Blog text (19) -
Purse has an epigraph taken from the horse's mouth.
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The image itself thus works as a kind of baroque trompe-l'oeil, cropped vertically to make it resemble the memorial column, complete with a verse-like epigraph.
Academic text (2003) -
"A work of art," said Duchamp—and this is the epigraph claimed by the uptown part of the Beaubourg-Guggenheim shows—"is a rendezvous."
Academic text (1999) -
Some pages later, in the passage cited in the epigraph above, Greenberg confirms the metonymic exchange between Rockwell and the Post and dismisses both as kitsch.
Academic text (1996) -
Only fragments of historical background are included, however, and a little ornamental material: many epigraphs, with most subsections having one, and a few illustrative halftones of works of art, photos of computing machinery, and cartoons.
Blog text (28) -
The epigraph on the monument honors the soldiers who fought in the war.
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Visitors often admire the elegant epigraph carved into the stone wall of the historic building.
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Each coin features an epigraph that reveals its historical significance.
Synonyms
37
4.8
Words carved on a hard surface like a stone or coin
A short note inside a book or on an object saying who it is for
A short written note on an object that names or explains it
How Durable
144
5.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
epigraph = graph (semi-transparent) = epi + graph
The classical prefix 'epi-' and the writing-related element 'graph' make the structure identifiable, but the learned form and specialized sense are not fully obvious to an average learner.
Etymology
Epigraph comes from the Greek parts epi- meaning 'on' and -graph meaning 'write', the same -graph you see in photograph. So an epigraph is literally 'writing on', which is why it is words carved on a building, statue, or coin.