Word of the Day

: April 28, 2009

chirography

noun kye-RAH-gruh-fee

What It Means

1 : handwriting, penmanship

2 : calligraphy

chirography in Context

As she leafed through her father's old book, Sheila noted that its margins were filled with annotations made in his distinct chirography.

Did You Know?

Some might argue that handwriting is a dying art in this age of electronic communication. Nevertheless, we have a fancy word for it. The root "graph" means "writing" and appears in many common English words such as "autograph" and "graphite." The lesser-known root "chir," or "chiro-," comes from a Greek word meaning "hand" and occurs in words such as "chiromancy" ("the art of palm reading") and "enchiridion" ("a handbook or manual"), as well as "chiropractic." "Chirography" first appeared in English in the 17th century and probably derived from "chirograph," a now rare word referring to a legal document or indenture. "Chirography" should not be confused with "choreography," which refers to the composition and arrangement of dances.