calligraphy
[ kuh-lig-ruh-fee ]
/ kəˈlɪg rə fi /
noun
fancy penmanship, especially highly decorative handwriting, as with a great many flourishes: She appreciated the calligraphy of the 18th century.
handwriting; penmanship.
the art of writing beautifully: He studied calligraphy when he was a young man.
a script, usually cursive, although sometimes angular, produced chiefly by brush, especially Chinese, Japanese, or Arabic writing of high aesthetic value.
Fine Arts. line or a group of lines either derived from or resembling letter forms and characterized by qualities usually associated with cursive writing, especially that produced with a brush or pen.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
calles, plutarco elías, calli-, callicrates, calligraph, calligrapher, calligraphy, callimachus, calling, calling card, calliope, calliopean
Origin of calligraphy
Related formscal·lig·ra·pher, cal·lig·ra·phist, nouncal·li·graph·ic [kal-i-graf-ik] /ˌkæl ɪˈgræf ɪk/, cal·li·graph·i·cal, adjectivecal·li·graph·i·cal·ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for calligraphy
British Dictionary definitions for calligraphy
calligraphy
/ (kəˈlɪɡrəfɪ) /
noun
handwriting, esp beautiful handwriting considered as an artAlso called: chirography
Derived Formscalligrapher or calligraphist, nouncalligraphic (ˌkælɪˈɡræfɪk), adjectivecalligraphically, adverb
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 calligraphy
calligraphy
1610s, from Greek kaligraphia, from kallos "beauty" + graphein "to write" (see -graphy). Related: Calligraphic. The usual comb. form in Greek was kalli- "beautiful, fine, happy, favorable;" kalo- was a later, rarer alternative form.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper