chirography

[kahy-rog-ruh-fee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chirography ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

handwriting; penmanship.

Origin of chirography

First recorded in 1645–55; chiro- + -graphy

Related formschi·rog·ra·pher, nounchi·ro·graph·ic

[kahy-ruh-graf-ik] /ˌkaɪ rəˈgræf ɪk/, chi·ro·graph·i·cal, adjective

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

Related Words for chirography

handwriting, writing, calligraphy

Examples from the Web for chirography

Historical Examples of chirography

I am writing this on the train as the intelligent readers will gather from the chirography.
Jane Journeys On
Ruth Comfort Mitchell
Instantly recognizing the chirography, he asked where I was.
A Confederate Girl's Diary
Sarah Margan Dawson
It was in fact, to him, his father's name and chirography, and no one's else.
The Spirit Land
Samuel B. (Samuel Bulfinch) Emmons
His chirography always was abominable; but now it is outrageous.
Love Letters of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Volume 2 of 2
Nathaniel Hawthorne
No, for the chirography was not mine—it was identical with all the rest of the writing.
The Laughing Mill and Other Stories
Julian Hawthorne

British Dictionary definitions for chirography

chirography

noun

another name for calligraphy

Derived Formschirographer, nounchirographic (ˌkaɪrəˈɡræfɪk) or chirographical, adjective

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 chirography

"handwriting," 1650s, from chiro- + -graphy. Chirograph "formal written legal document" is attested from late 13c. in Anglo-French, from Latin chirographum, from Greek kheirographia "written testimony."