epigram

ep·i·gram

noun \ˈe-pə-ˌgram\

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

Examples of EPIGRAM

1. <Benjamin Franklin's famous epigram, “Remember that time is money”.>

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

Related to EPIGRAM

Synonyms

adage, aphorism, apothegm, byword, saying, maxim, proverb, saw, sententia, word

Related Words

bromide, cliché (also cliche), commonplace, platitude, wheeze; expression, felicity; axiom, motto, precept, truism, truth; formula; comment, note, reflection, remark

Other Literature Terms

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

Rhymes with EPIGRAM

aerogram, Amsterdam, anagram, Birmingham, Boulder Dam, cablegram, centigram, Christogram, chronogram, cofferdam, cryptogram, decagram, deprogram, diagram, diaphragm, fluid dram, giant clam, hard-shell clam, hexagram, histogram, Hohokam, hologram, kilogram, logogram, mammogram, milligram, Minicam, monogram, nomogram, oriflamme, pentagram, phonogram, pictogram, reprogram, Rotterdam, scattergram, self-exam, skiagram, soft-shell clam, sonogram, subprogram, telegram, tetradrachm, thank-you-ma'am, tinker's damn, Uncle Sam

epigram

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Short poem treating concisely, pointedly, and often satirically a single thought or event and often ending with a witticism or ingenious turn of thought. By extension, the term applies to a terse, sage, or witty (often paradoxical) saying, usually in the form of a generalization. Writers of Latin epigrams included Catullus and Martial. The form was revived in the Renaissance. Later masters of the epigram have included Ben Jonson; François VI, duke de La Rochefoucauld; Voltaire; Alexander Pope; Samuel Taylor Coleridge; Oscar Wilde; and George Bernard Shaw.