calligraphy

noun

cal·​lig·​ra·​phy kə-ˈli-grə-fē 

1

a

: artistic, stylized, or elegant handwriting or lettering

b

: the art of producing such writing

2

: penmanship

3

: an ornamental line in drawing or painting

calligraphic

ˌka-lə-ˈgra-fik 

adjective

calligraphically

ˌka-lə-ˈgra-fi-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Did you know?

Kalli- is a Greek root meaning "beautiful", and "beautiful" in the case of calligraphy means artistic, stylized, and elegant. Calligraphy has existed in many cultures, including Indian, Persian, and Islamic cultures; Arabic puts a particularly high value on beautiful script, and in East Asia calligraphy has long been considered a major art. Calligraphers in the West use pens with wide nibs, with which they produce strokes of widely differing width within a single letter.

Synonyms

• handwriting
• longhand
• manuscript
• penmanship
• script

Examples of calligraphy in a Sentence

she specializes in scrollwork with beautiful calligraphy

Recent Examples on the Web

The stop in Shanghai includes Chinese calligraphy lessons, an urban walking tour, and a day trip to Hangzhou by high-speed rail to cruise the UNESCO World Heritage Site, West Lake. —Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 3 Mar. 2025

The soundscape of calligraphy and music is a hallmark of Chinese civilization. —Ut Community Press, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2025

This shade is a deep-blue variant of the black sumi ink traditionally used in Japanese calligraphy and painting. —Bhanu Chopra, Forbes, 20 Feb. 2025

Literally spent days on end just doing calligraphy because her mom kept coming up with different things that HAD to be in calligraphy to match. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 6 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

French or Greek; French calligraphie, from Greek kalligraphia, from kalli- beautiful (from kallos beauty) + -graphia -graphy

First Known Use

1590, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Kids Definition

calligraphy

noun

cal·​lig·​ra·​phy kə-ˈlig-rə-fē 

1

a

: beautiful handwriting

b

: the art of producing such handwriting

2

: penmanship sense 2

calligrapher

-rə-fər

noun