English
epigram
Epigram comes from Latin epigramma ‘inscription’, from Ancient Greek ἐπιγράφω ‘to mark the surface’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- ‘to carve’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gerbʰ-‘to carve’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*grə́pʰō‘to scratch, cut or carve into’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγράφω‘to scratch, cut into’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἐπιγράφω‘to mark the surface’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἐπίγραμμαepígramma‘inscription’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEepigramma‘inscription’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600epigramme
- Englishearliest quotation 1916epigram
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gerbʰ-‘to carve’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*grə́pʰō‘to scratch, cut or carve into’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγράφω‘to scratch, cut into’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἐπιγράφω‘to mark the surface’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἐπίγραμμαepígramma‘inscription’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEepigramma‘inscription’
- Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600epigramme
- Englishearliest quotation 1916epigram
Earliest quotation: 1916, Ezra Pound, Lustra: “The second has written a sonnet upon the mutability…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- ‘to carve’
grammar, crawl, crab, carve, crawfish, astrophotography, 81 more
through Proto-Hellenic *grə́pʰō ‘to scratch, cut or carve into’
photography, graffiti, graft, demography, grimoire, ultrasonography, sonography, 75 more
through Ancient Greek γράφω ‘to scratch, cut into’
Today it means
noun An inscription in stone.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- / epigram