Etymologically
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epigramma

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Pronunciation

  • Classical: [ɛ.pɪˈɡram.ma][1]
  • Ecclesiastical: [e.piˈɡram.ma][1]

Forms

epigramma n (genitive epigrammatis); third declension[1] Genitive epigrammatis or epigrammatos; genitive plural epigrammatōn or epigrammatum; dative and ablative plural epigrammatīs.[2][3]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Ancient Greek ἐπίγραμμα (epígramma, “inscription”),[2][1][4] from ἐπί (epí, “on”) and γράμμα (grámma, “letter”).[4][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

Cicero has it first,[4] of a famous Greek inscription carved on the base of a statue in the speeches against Verres.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

Its first sense is an inscription, especially an epitaph: Nepos has one on an offering and Petronius on tombstones.[3][2] Petronius also uses it of the brand of runaways traced across a face.[2] Cicero, in the Pro Archia, tells of a bad poet who wrote an epigram in alternating longer lines; from this it is the short poem, as in Quintilian, Suetonius and above all Martial's books of Epigrammata.[2][3] English epigram came from it in the mid-15th century through Old French.[5]

Timeline

  • 81–43 BC – Cicero, of an inscription on a statue base and of a short poem.[2][3][4]
  • c. 100–24 BC – Nepos, of an inscription on an offering.[3][4]
  • before 66 AD – Petronius, of a brand traced on a face.[2][4]
  • 40–102/103 AD – Martial's Epigrammata.[3][4]
  • mid-15th century – English epigram, through Old French.[5]

Meanings

Noun

  1. An inscription, especially an epitaph.[2][3][1]
  2. A mark branded or tattooed on a criminal or runaway.[2]
  3. A short poem, an epigram.[2][3][1]

Word family

  • epigrammatarius
  • epigrammaticus

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
  5. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com