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calligraphy

/kəˈlɪgrəfi/
/kəˈlɪgrəfi/
IPA guide

Other forms: calligraphies

Ever see a framed diploma in your doctor's office filled with fancy old fashioned curvy handwriting announcing they trained at such and such a university? Well, that style of writing is calligraphy, and it's mostly used for important public documents.

The word calligraphy comes from two Greek words stuck together, kallos, meaning "beauty," and graphein, meaning "to write" — literally "beautiful writing." In the days before printing was invented, all books and documents were written by hand using calligraphy, the most famous examples being the bibles written by medieval monks.

Definitions of calligraphy
  1. noun
    beautiful handwriting
    synonyms: chirography, penmanship
    see moresee less
    type of:
    hand, handwriting, script
    something written by hand
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