Etymologically
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autograph

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈɔːtəɡɹɑːf/[1]
  • US: /ˈɔtəɡɹæf/[1]

Etymology

The noun is partly borrowed from French autographe (“manuscript in the author's own hand”), recorded in Middle French from the 16th century (1580 in Barnhart),[2][3][4][5] and partly borrowed from Late Latin autographum (“that which is written in one's own hand”),[2][6][7][8] the noun use of the neuter of Latin autographus (“written with one's own hand”),[6][7][9] from Ancient Greek αὐτόγραφος (autógraphos, “written with one's own hand”),[10][2][4] neuter αὐτόγραφον (autógraphon).[10][4][11] The Greek adjective is formed from αὐτο- (auto-, “self”) and -γραφος (-graphos, “written”), from γράφω (gráphō, “to write”),[10][8][4] which Etymonline glosses as originally "to scratch".[4] The adjective is directly from the Latin and Greek adjective, and the verb is a conversion of the noun.[2][3] The OED notes early forms with the Latin and Greek endings, and a form authograph, perhaps influenced by author.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A manuscript in the author's own handwriting: 1605, in a letter of T. Cecil.[2][7] Barnhart and Etymonline date this sense to the 1640s.[3][4]

Semantic evolution

In the plural the word was used from 1658 for the original manuscripts of the books of the Bible, after the Latin plural autographa.[2] The sense now most common, a person's own signature, especially one given by a celebrity to a fan or collector, is dated 1796 by the OED,[2] and 1791, in the writings of Isaac Disraeli, by Barnhart and Etymonline.[3][4] A person's own handwriting followed in 1817,[2] and a facsimile made by autography in 1868, now rare.[2][11] The adjective, written in one's own hand, is recorded from 1735 in the OED,[2] about 1676 in Merriam-Webster;[7] it is also used of a painting done by the artist himself rather than a copyist.[2][11] The verb meant at first to write or copy out by hand (1829, perhaps after French autographier), and since 1833 to sign a book or photograph;[2] Barnhart dates the "sign" sense to 1837,[3] and Merriam-Webster gives 1817 for the verb's first use.[7] In American drug slang of the 1950s an autograph was a narcotic injection.[12]

Timeline

  • 1580 – French autographe.[3]
  • 1605 – a manuscript in the author's own handwriting.[2][7]
  • 1658 – plural, the original manuscripts of the Bible.[2]
  • c. 1676 – adjective, first known use according to Merriam-Webster; 1735 in the OED.[7][2]
  • 1791 – a person's signature, according to Barnhart and Etymonline; 1796 in the OED.[3][4][2]
  • 1817 – a person's own handwriting.[2]
  • 1829 – verb, to write or copy out by hand.[2]
  • 1833 – verb, to write one's signature in or on.[2]
  • 1868 – a facsimile produced by autography.[2]
  • 1959 – American drug slang, a narcotic injection.[12]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A person's handwritten signature, especially that of a famous person: The fans queued for an hour to get the singer's autograph.[13][7][2]
  2. A manuscript in the author's own handwriting, especially a composer's handwritten score.[13][7][2]
  3. A person's own handwriting.[13][2]
  4. (rare) A facsimile or print made by autography.[7][2][11]

Adjective

  1. Written in the author's own hand; of a painting, done by the artist personally, not by a copyist: an autograph letter.[13][7][2][11]

Verb

  1. To write one's signature on or in: The author autographed copies of her new novel.[13][7][2]
  2. (rare) To write or copy out with one's own hand.[7][2][11]

Word family

  • autographic
  • autographically
  • autography

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  5. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  8. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  9. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  10. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  11. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  12. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
  13. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins