autograph

[aw-tuh-graf, -grahf]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR autograph ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person's own signature: He collects autographs of artists.

something written in a person's own hand, as a manuscript or letter.

adjective

written by a person's own hand: an autograph letter.

containing autographs: an autograph album.

verb (used with object)

to write one's name on or in; sign: to autograph a book.

to write with one's own hand.

Origin of autograph

1630–40; < Latin autographum, noun use of neuter of Latin autographus written with one's own hand < Greek autógraphos. See auto-¹, -graph

Related formsau·to·graph·ic

[aw-tuh-graf-ik] /ˌɔ təˈgræf ɪk/, au·to·graph·i·cal, adjectiveau·to·graph·i·cal·ly, adverbun·au·to·graphed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for autograph

endorsement, inscription, handwriting, seal, token, writing, signature, sign, engross, subscribe, pen, inscribe, endorse, handwrite, ink

Examples from the Web for autograph

Contemporary Examples of autograph

It's nothing for someone to walk up to me in the store or at a restaurant and ask for an autograph or speak to me.
Porn Stars on the Year in Porn: Drone Erotica, Belle Knox, and Wild Sex
Aurora Snow
December 27, 2014
He struggled as television crews tried to mike him up for sound and seemed taken aback when delegates asked him for an autograph.
The Bizarro World Of Iowa’s GOP Convention
Ben Jacobs
June 23, 2014
Most of all, Lewis is immensely moved by the young black people who approach him for his autograph.
Norm Lewis, Broadway’s First Black ‘Phantom,’ on Racism, Heroes, and Dream Roles
Tim Teeman
March 21, 2014
“The advertising guy would go out to restaurants and would be asked for his autograph all the time,” Brunelle says.
Doppelgangers Really Do Exist: These People Are Strangers
Justin Jones
March 18, 2014
And people—reportedly less than 20, but still—actually showed up to meet the killer neighborhood watchman and get his autograph!
Fringe Factor: Liberal Professors Should Be Shot
Caitlin Dickson
March 16, 2014

Historical Examples of autograph

Pasted at the end is Coram's autograph letter, dated "June 10th, 1746."
De Libris: Prose and Verse
Austin Dobson
It proved to be an autograph from the Flying Dutchman to his wife.
A Virtuoso's Collection (From "Mosses From An Old Manse")
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Mr. Clay expressed his satisfaction for his own in an autograph letter.
Cleveland Past and Present
Maurice Joblin
The autograph map (by Marquette) of the Mississippi, as discovered by him.
The International Monthly, Volume 3, No. 2, May, 1851
Various
The Judge wrote his autograph in a book—and gave it to the fellow.
Philo Gubb Correspondence-School Detective
Ellis Parker Butler

British Dictionary definitions for autograph

autograph

noun

a handwritten signature, esp that of a famous person
(as modifier)an autograph album

a person's handwriting

a book, document, etc, handwritten by its author; original manuscript; holograph
(as modifier)an autograph letter

verb (tr)

to write one's signature on or in; sign

to write with one's own hand

Derived Formsautographic (ˌɔːtəˈɡræfɪk) or autographical, adjectiveautographically, adverb

Word Origin for autograph

C17: from Late Latin, from Greek autographos, from autos self + graphein to write

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for autograph

"a person's signature," 1791, from Latin autographum, from Greek autographon, neuter of autographos "written with one's own hand," from autos- "self" (see auto-) + graphein "to write" (originally "to scratch;" see -graphy). Used earlier (1640s) to mean "author's own manuscript."

"to sign one's name," 1837, from autograph (n.). Related: Autographed; autographing. Earlier "to write with one's own hand" (1818).