chirography means synonym of handwriting or penmanship, one's personal skill at writing. It carries an Arena rating of 1698, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, chirography ranks #2,443 of 13,263 for Most Storied Words, #2,817 of 13,263 for Most Satisfying to Say, #3,633 of 13,263 for Most Betrayed by Its Sound, #4,869 of 13,263 for Most Malleable Words.
chirography is pronounced /kʌɪˈrɒɡrəfi/.
Why “chirography” is a great word
Chirography is the art, skill, and character of handwriting, from personal penmanship to formal calligraphy. From chiro- (from Ancient Greek χειρο- (kheiro-, "hand")) + -graphy (from Ancient Greek -γραφία (-graphía, "writing"), from γράφειν (gráphein, "to write")), formed within English in the mid-17th century under influence from words like geography. Unlike typography, which arranges impersonal type, or orthography, which dictates standardized spelling, chirography is the uniquely human impress of thought through a held instrument. It is the tell-tale flourish of a signature on a will, the patient discipline of a scribe's nib on vellum, and the fading scrawl in a diary's margin—the silent music of a person moving across a page, gone the moment the pen is lifted.
Etymology
From chirograph + -y under influence from geography &c., from French chirographe, from Latin chirographus and chirographum, from Ancient Greek χειρόγραφος (kheirógraphos) and χειρόγραφον (kheirógraphon), from χειρο- (kheiro-, “hand-”) + γραφος (graphos, “writing, written thing”). Equivalent to chiro- (“hand”) + -graphy (“writing”) and handwriting.
noun
- Synonym of handwriting or penmanship, one's personal skill at writing.“A flourishing style of chirography is nowhere less in place than on a physician's prescription.”
- Synonym of calligraphy, the art of beautiful writing.
- Synonym of autograph, writing in one's own hand.
- Synonym of palmistry, fortune-telling based on one's hand.
Words closest in meaning
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