-graphy

American  

1. a combining form denoting a process or form of drawing, writing, representing, recording, describing, etc., or an art or science concerned with such a process.

   biography; choreography; geography; orthography; photography.

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-graphy British  

combining form

1. indicating a form or process of writing, representing, etc

   calligraphy

   photography

2. indicating an art or descriptive science

   choreography

   oceanography

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Usage

What does -graphy mean? The combining form -graphy is used like a suffix meaning “a process or form of drawing, writing, representing, recording, describing, etc.” or "an art or science concerned with such a process." It is often used in scientific and technical terms.The form -graphy comes from Greek -graphia, used to denote abstract nouns of action or function related to -graphos, meaning "drawn or written." To learn more, read our entry on graph.What are variants of -graphy?While -graphy doesn't have any variants, it is related to the forms -graph, as in radiograph, and -graphic, as in histographic. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles on -graphy and -graphic.

Etymology

Origin of -graphy

< Greek -graphia. See -graph, -y ³

Example Sentences

“The word ‘photo’ or ‘photon’ means light and ‘graphy’ means writing,” he said.

From Washington Post

Chief among the novelties is Graphy, a component of the manual mode in LG’s camera app that will allow users to apply the same “style and mood” of a chosen professional photo to their own.

From The Verge

Let me say straight out that if all military histories were as thrilling and well written as Robert Gaudi’s “African Kaiser,” I might give up reading fiction and literary bio­graphy.

From Washington Post

It’s not only his choreo­graphy that can get spiky.

From Washington Post

Contrary to the current trend in art photo­graphy, his pictures are printed small, sometimes no bigger than the size of a snapshot.

From New York Times