μονόγραμμος

Forms

μονόγραμμος (monógrammos) m or f, μονόγραμμον n; second declension^[1][2]

Etymology

It is a compound from Ancient Greek μόνος (mónos, “single, alone”) + γραμμή (grammḗ, “line”), literally “of a single line”.^[2][3][4] Köbler gives γράμμα (grámma) as the second element.^[5] The adjective λεπτόγραμμος (leptógrammos) is formed in the same way.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Cicero, who cites the word from Epicurus in the sense “drawn with single lines”, an outline without colour or shading.^[1][2][6]

Semantic evolution

The classical sense is that of a drawing made of lines only, an outline sketch; the neuter, τὸ μονόγραμμον, was used as a noun for such a sketch.^[1][7][3] In late Greek the noun came to mean a character made of several letters combined in one design, especially the signature of the Byzantine emperors.^[4]

It was borrowed into Late Latin as monogramma, recorded from the 5th century, which passed into French monogramme and English monogram.^[4] Coptic also borrowed the word.^[8] Modern Greek μονόγραμμα (monógramma) is a learned word of 1863, taken back from French.^[9]

Timeline

• 1st century BC – Cicero quotes it from Epicurus for a figure drawn in outline only.^[1][2][6]
• 5th century AD – Late Latin monogramma, borrowed from the Greek noun, is first recorded.^[4]
• 1690s – English monogram is first recorded, for letters intertwined in one design.^[4]
• 1863 – Modern Greek takes up μονόγραμμα (monógramma) from French.^[9]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Drawn with lines only, outlined, without colour or shading.^[1][2][10]
2. Consisting of a single line.^[7][5][3]

Noun

1. (neuter, as a noun) A sketch made of lines only.^[3]
2. (Late Greek) A monogram, a character of several letters combined, especially an emperor's signature.^[4]

Related words

• μονογράμματος (monográmmatos)
• Late Latin monogramma
• English monogram

References

1. ^ a b c d e Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
2. ^ a b c d e Bailly, Anatole (2020), Dictionnaire grec-français, Bailly 2020 Hugo Chávez ed., ed. Gérard Gréco et al.
3. ^ a b c d e Πάπυρος–Larousse–Britannica, Μέγα Λεξικό της Ελληνικής Γλώσσας, Athens: Πάπυρος
4. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard, Griechisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, online ed., https://www.koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge
7. ^ a b Pape, Wilhelm (1914), Griechisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 3rd ed., rev. Max Sengebusch, Braunschweig: Vieweg
8. ^ Database and Dictionary of Greek Loanwords in Coptic (DDGLC), Freie Universität Berlin and Universität Leipzig
9. ^ a b Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
10. ^ Korinthios, J. (2025), Grande Dizionario Greco Classico: Greco–Italiano, digital ed., Milan: Hoepli