epigraph
Americannoun
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an inscription, especially on a building, statue, or the like.
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an apposite quotation at the beginning of a book, chapter, etc.
noun
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a quotation at the beginning of a book, chapter, etc, suggesting its theme
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an inscription on a monument or building
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of epigraph
First recorded in 1615–25, epigraph is from the Greek word epigraphḗ inscription. See epi-, -graph
Explanation
An epigraph is an engraved inscription on a building or statue, or a quotation at the beginning of a piece of writing. If you look on the U.S. government minted coins in your pocket, you'll see the epigraph "In God We Trust." Epigraph comes from the Greek roots epi- ("on") and graphein ("write"), a root you'll recognize from autograph, graphite, graphic novel, and lots of other familiar words that have to do with writing or drawing.
Vocabulary lists containing epigraph
Write On!: Graph and Gram
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Rhetoric
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Reading: Literature - Literary Devices & Figures of Speech - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mr. Dikötter uses as his invaluable book’s epigraph a line from Sun Tzu: “All warfare is deception.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 13, 2026
It is as Caro says in the book’s epigraph: “One must wait until the evening to see how splendid the day has been.”
From Slate ● Sep. 16, 2024
I use John Pesando’s remark as the epigraph, “Every whistleblower is an amateur playing against professionals.”
From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2024
Wilkerson’s husband, Brett, is mentioned only briefly in the book’s epigraph and acknowledgments, but he is central to the movie’s emotional arc.
From New York Times ● Jan. 16, 2024
In Galileo’s famous words, which provide the epigraph to this chapter, the book of the universe is written in geometrical figures.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
