Dictionary

epigram

noun ep·i·gram \ˈe-pə-ˌgram\

: a short and clever poem or saying

Full Definition of EPIGRAM

1
:  a concise poem dealing pointedly and often satirically with a single thought or event and often ending with an ingenious turn of thought
2
:  a terse, sage, or witty and often paradoxical saying
3
:  epigrammatic expression
ep·i·gram·ma·tism \ˌe-pə-ˈgra-mə-ˌti-zəm\ noun
ep·i·gram·ma·tist \-ˈgra-mə-tist\ noun
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Origin of EPIGRAM

Middle English epigrame, from Latin epigrammat-, epigramma, from Greek, from epigraphein to write on, inscribe, from epi- + graphein to write — more at carve
First Known Use: 15th century

Other Literature Terms

apophasis, bathos, bildungsroman, bowdlerize, caesura, coda, doggerel, euphemism, poesy, prosody

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