Epigram

//ˈɛpɪɡɹæm// noun

noun ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An inscription in stone. obsolete
  2. 2
    a witty saying wordnet
  3. 3
    A brief but witty saying.
  4. 4
    A short, witty or pithy poem.

    "The second has written a sonnet upon the mutability of woman, And the third writes an epigram to Candidia."

Example

More examples

"Some learned writers have compared a Scorpion to an Epigram, because as the sting of the Scorpion lyeth in the tayl, so the force and virtue of an epigram is in the conclusion."

Etymology

From Middle French epigramme, from Latin epigramma, from Ancient Greek ἐπίγραμμα (epígramma, “inscription”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.