epigram Meaning, Definition & Usage

Ep"i*gram noun

Etymology

L. epigramma, fr. Gr. inscription, epigram, fr. to write upon, upon + to write: cf. F. épigramme. See Graphic.

Definitions

1. A short poem treating concisely and pointedly of a single thought or event. The modern epigram is so contrived as to surprise the reader with a witticism or ingenious turn of thought, and is often satirical in character.

   Dost thou think I care for a satire or an epigram? Shak.

   ✍ Epigrams were originally inscription on tombs, statues, temples, triumphal arches, etc.
2. An effusion of wit; a bright thought tersely and sharply expressed, whether in verse or prose.
3. The style of the epigram.

   Antithesis, i. e., bilateral stroke, is the soul of epigram in its later and technical signification. B. Cracroft.