Dictionary

calligraphy en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• kə-lĭg'rə-fi
• (Southern-England) audio
• /kəˈlɪɡɹəfi/

Etymology

Borrowed from French calligraphie, from Ancient Greek καλλιγραφία (kalligraphía, literally “pretty writing”), from κάλλος (kállos, “beauty”) + γράφω (gráphō, “to draw”).

Meanings

1. (uncountable) The art or practice of writing letters and words in a decorative style; the letters and words so written.
   • Calligraphy, however, can seem like a live concert recording with a shallow, raw sound and awkward "accidentals." But calligraphy has grown on me, and a distinction must be made between the calligraphy of high school diplomas and that of experts whose work is often breathtakingly beautiful. 2004, Leslie Cabarga, Logo, Font & Lettering Bible, page 78:
   • There is, however, a temporal separation between the earthly crystallization of Quranic calligraphy and the advent of the Quranic revelation. 1987, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Islamic Art and Spirituality, page 27:
   • This paper will explore the role of calligraphy on three royal mosques built during the reign of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658):[…]. 1981, Wayne E. Begley, “2: The Symbolic Role of Calligraphy on Three Imperial Mosques of Shāh Jahān”, in Joanna Gottfried Williams, editor, Kalādarśana: American Studies in the Art of India, page 7:
2. (countable) Any such style of decorative writing.
   • Around the corner, at Goedhuis, among more contemporary calligraphies, the fat and fuzzy brushwork of Zeng Yizeng (born 1973) stands out. 2008 March 15, Roberta Smith, “Fair Goes From Feast to Tasting Menu”, in New York Times:
3. (countable) A document written in decorative style.
   • 2004, Diana J, Mukpo, Carolyn Rose Gimian (editors), Chogyam Trungpa, The Collected Works of Chogyam Trungpa, Volume 7, page 169, Only a small number of Trungpa Rinpoche's calligraphies have been reproduced heretofore, some in very limited editions.

Forms

Deriveds

fauxligraphy · microcalligraphy · calligraffiti

Descendants

カリグラフィー

Relateds

calligraphic · calligrapher

Synonyms

penmanship (art or practice of decorative writing) · chirography (art or practice of decorative writing)

Translations (102)

id seni tulisan (art of writing beautifully) · ja 書法 (art of writing beautifully) · co calligraffia (art of writing beautifully) · nn skrivekunst (art of writing beautifully) · id seni khat (art of writing beautifully) · fr chirographie (art of writing beautifully) · eo kaligrafio (art of writing beautifully) · fi kalligrafia (art of writing beautifully) · ug خەتتاتلىق (art of writing beautifully) · mi tuhi rerehua (art of writing beautifully) · nl schoonschrijven (art of writing beautifully) · ka კალიგრაფია (art of writing beautifully) · he כתיבה תמה (art of writing beautifully) · ro caligrafie (art of writing beautifully) · gl caligrafía (art of writing beautifully) · dz ཡིག་བཟོའི་རིག་རྩལ (art of writing beautifully) · fur caligrafie (art of writing beautifully) · he קליגרפיה (art of writing beautifully) · km ការសរសេរអក្សរផ្ចង់ (art of writing beautifully) · ru чистописа́ние (art of writing beautifully) · it calligrafia (art of writing beautifully) · ms kirografi (art of writing beautifully) · tr kaligrafi (art of writing beautifully) · is skrautritun (art of writing beautifully) · ga callagrafaíocht (art of writing beautifully) · bg калиграфия (art of writing beautifully) · cmn 書法 /书法 (art of writing beautifully) · ka სუფთა წერა (art of writing beautifully) · ru каллигра́фия (art of writing beautifully) · sv kalligrafi (art of writing beautifully) · fr calligraphie (art of writing beautifully) · pl kaligrafia (art of writing beautifully) · de Schönschrift (art of writing beautifully) · de gute Handschrift (art of writing beautifully) · nn kalligrafi (art of writing beautifully) · cmn 筆跡 /笔迹 (art of writing beautifully) · da kalligrafi (art of writing beautifully) · cs kaligrafie (art of writing beautifully) · vo kaligraf (art of writing beautifully) · ar خَطّ (art of writing beautifully) · fo skreytskrift (art of writing beautifully) · mi tuhiwhakairo (art of writing beautifully) · cs krasopis (art of writing beautifully) · cmn 書道 /书道 (art of writing beautifully) · be калігра́фія (art of writing beautifully) · ast caligrafía (art of writing beautifully) · is skrautskrift (art of writing beautifully) · fa خطاطی (art of writing beautifully) · vo kaligrafam (art of writing beautifully) · pt caligrafia (art of writing beautifully) · el καλλιγραφία (art of writing beautifully) · fo fagurskrift (art of writing beautifully) · it chirografia (art of writing beautifully) · sh kaligrafija (art of writing beautifully) · bg краснопис (art of writing beautifully) · co calligrafia (art of writing beautifully) · sh краснопис (art of writing beautifully) · ko 서예 (art of writing beautifully) · cmn 寫法 /写法 (art of writing beautifully) · ja 書道 (art of writing beautifully) · vi bút pháp (art of writing beautifully) · fa خوشنویسی (art of writing beautifully) · hy գեղագրություն (art of writing beautifully) · nb skrivekunst (art of writing beautifully) · sh krasopis (art of writing beautifully) · bg пи́сане на ръка́ (art of writing beautifully) · de Kalligraphie (art of writing beautifully) · lt kaligrafija (art of writing beautifully) · ms kaligrafi (art of writing beautifully) · ca cal·ligrafia (art of writing beautifully) · tl sulat-kamay (art of writing beautifully) · ko 서법 (art of writing beautifully) · ja 習字 (art of writing beautifully) · ja カリグラフィー (art of writing beautifully) · ko 달필 (art of writing beautifully) · nb kalligrafi (art of writing beautifully) · hi सुलेख (art of writing beautifully) · uk калігра́фія (art of writing beautifully) · lv kaligrāfija (art of writing beautifully) · es caligrafía (art of writing beautifully) · ro chirografie (art of writing beautifully) · th อักษรวิจิตร (art of writing beautifully) · sq bukurshkrim (art of writing beautifully) · hy վայելչագրություն (art of writing beautifully) · sh красопис (art of writing beautifully) · nl kalligrafie (art of writing beautifully) · vi thư pháp (art of writing beautifully) · hu kalligráfia (art of writing beautifully) · kk құсни жазу (art of writing beautifully) · ta வனப்பெழுத்து (art of writing beautifully) · id kaligrafi (art of writing beautifully) · km អក្សរផ្ចង់ (art of writing beautifully) · sh krasnopis (art of writing beautifully) · es calografía (art of writing beautifully) · pt quirografia (art of writing beautifully) · fi kaunokirjoitus (art of writing beautifully) · nl schoonschrift (art of writing beautifully) · de Schönschreiben (art of writing beautifully) · ms khat (art of writing beautifully) · cmn 筆法 /笔法 (art of writing beautifully) · sh калиграфија (art of writing beautifully) · de Schönschreibkunst (art of writing beautifully)