Epigraph

//ˈɛpɪˌɡɹæf// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An inscription, especially on a building.
  2. 2
    an engraved inscription wordnet
  3. 3
    A literary quotation placed at the beginning of a book or other text.
  4. 4
    a quotation at the beginning of some piece of writing wordnet
  5. 5
    The set of all points lying on or above the function's graph.
Verb
  1. 1
    To provide (a literary work) with an epigraph. transitive

Synonyms

All synonyms
bannerbanner headcaptioncatchworddevicedrop head

Example

More examples

"Hanging on the wall was a picture of Mary, forefinger raised in threat, appearing as though she were reading the onlooker the riot act. The epigraph mounted beneath read: "I'm in charge here!""

Etymology

From Ancient Greek ἐπιγραφή (epigraphḗ, “inscription”), from ἐπιγράφω (epigráphō, “write upon”), from ἐπῐ- (epĭ-, “on, upon, over, etc.”) + γρᾰ́φω (grắphō, “to draw, paint, write, etc.”).

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