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Glite Dictionary
🏛️ About inscriptions 📜 About text quotes
epigraphic

epigraphic

8.5
About a short quote placed at the start of a book or chapter
  • adjective
  • /ˌɛpɪˈɡræfɪk/
  • Literature
translation icon : epigráfico
  • The book begins with an epigraphic quote from a famous philosopher.

Examples

  • Also problematic is the verse's epigraphic singularity.

    Academic text (2005)

  • Medieval epigraphic forms tend instead to be repetitive and formulaic.

    Academic text (2005)

  • In ancient texts, epigraphic references often provide insights into cultural beliefs.

  • The museum displayed several epigraphic inscriptions that revealed the history of the city.

Synonyms

epigraphical
vsepigraphic
  • Literature
8.9

Relating to a short quote at the start of a book or chapter

is the same in meaning but uses a different adjective ending

Surface Forms

epigraphic positive
epigraphical positive

Morphology

epigraphic = epigraph (transparent) = epigraph + ic

The adjective derives transparently from 'epigraph' with the usual adjectival suffix '-ic' indicating 'characteristic of an epigraph'.

Etymology

The word epigraphic also relates to an epigraph, a short quotation placed at the start of a book or chapter, because an epigraph is like writing 'on' the work. So, epigraphic can mean 'about those opening quotations' and explains why it is used for short quotes that set the tone for a text.