English
epigraph
Epigraph comes from Ancient Greek ἐπιγραφή ‘inscription’, from ἐπιγράφω ‘write upon’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- ‘to carve’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gerbʰ-1‘to carve’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*grə́pʰō1‘to scratch, cut or carve into’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγρᾰ́φω2‘to draw, paint, write, etc’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐπιγράφω2epigráphō‘write upon’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐπιγραφή2epigraphḗ‘inscription’
- Englishtodayepigraph2
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek γράφω
- 2 Wiktionary, English epigraph
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*gerbʰ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek γράφω‘to carve’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*grə́pʰōWiktionary, Ancient Greek γράφω‘to scratch, cut or carve into’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEγρᾰ́φωWiktionary, English epigraph‘to draw, paint, write, etc’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐπιγράφωWiktionary, English epigraphepigráphō‘write upon’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἐπιγραφήWiktionary, English epigraphepigraphḗ‘inscription’
- EnglishtodayepigraphWiktionary, English epigraph
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- ‘to carve’
grammar, crawl, crab, carve, crawfish, astrophotography, 81 more
through Proto-Hellenic *grə́pʰō ‘to scratch, cut or carve into’
photo, cinema, graphic, graphite, graphene, 75 more
through Ancient Greek γρᾰ́φω ‘to draw, paint, write, etc’
photography, graffiti, graft, demography, grimoire, ultrasonography, sonography, 41 more
Today it means
noun An inscription, especially on a building.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “epigraph”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Ancient Greek γράφω. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- / epigraph