epigram

noun

ep·​i·​gram ˈe-pə-ˌgram 

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

epigrammatism

ˌe-pə-ˈgra-mə-ˌti-zəm 

noun

epigrammatist

ˌe-pə-ˈgra-mə-tist 

noun

Did you know?

Ancient Greeks and Romans used the word epigramma (from Greek epigraphein, meaning "to write on") to refer to a concise, witty, and often satirical verse. The Roman poet Martial (who published eleven books of these epigrammata, or epigrams, between the years 86 and 98 C.E.) was a master of the form: "You puff the poets of other days, / the living you deplore. / Spare me the accolade: your praise / Is not worth dying for." English speakers adopted the "verse" sense of the word when we first used epigram for a concise poem dealing pointedly and often satirically with a single thought or event in the 15th century. In the late 18th century, we began using epigram for concise, witty sayings, even if they didn't rhyme.

Synonyms

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

Examples of epigram in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

On his plane plastered with Trumpian epigrams, Vance makes the case for Trump’s second-term vision of enhanced executive power. —Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 26 Sep. 2024

No one could tell the clock by him; no one could quote an epigram of his; no one could ever remember his being a friend of their daddy—or even their granddaddy. —E. L. Doctorow, The New Yorker, 1 July 2024

Chevalier wrote that the idea for the reports had come from Oppenheimer, who helped to write them and even chose literary references for the epigrams. —TIME, 8 Mar. 2024

One of the book's epigrams is from Amy Richlin of the University of California, Los Angeles, talking about her experience in the 1970s. —Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 8 Nov. 2023

An epigram for one of his chapters in The Real Anthony Fauci, a quote from C. S. Lewis, offers a hint: Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. —Matthew Scully, National Review, 16 May 2023

An epigram by any other name . —Bryan A. Garner, National Review, 15 Sep. 2022

Unlike those, an epigram has a flash of pleasing humor in it. —Bryan A. Garner, National Review, 15 Sep. 2022

The epigram is applicable to the current stock market flavor-of-the-year, SPACs, or Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations. —Jerry Weissman, Forbes, 9 Apr. 2021

Word History

Etymology

Middle English epigrame, borrowed from Latin epigrammat-, epigramma "inscription, epitaph, epigram," borrowed from Greek epigrammat-, epígramma "inscription on a tomb, monument or work of art" (Late Greek, "short poem, epigram"), from epigráphein "to mark the surface of, graze, scratch a mark on, inscribe" (from epi- epi- + gráphein "to cut into, scratch, inscribe, write") + -mat-, -ma, resultative noun suffix — more at carve

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

epigram

noun

ep·​i·​gram ˈep-ə-ˌgram 

1

: a short poem ending with a clever or witty expression

2

: a brief witty saying

epigrammatist

ˌep-ə-ˈgram-ət-əst 

noun