epigraph means an inscription, especially on a building.
epigraph is pronounced /ˈɛpɪˌɡɹæf/.
Why “epigraph” is a great word
An inscription on a monument, coin, or tomb, or a brief quotation set at the opening of a literary work. From the Ancient Greek ἐπιγραφή (epigraphḗ, "inscription"), from ἐπιγράφω (epigráphō, "write upon"), from ἐπί (epí, "on, upon") + γράφω (gráphō, "to write"), first recorded in English use 1615–25. Unlike an "epigram," a self-contained spark of wit, or a "hypograph," its mathematical opposite in spatial relation, an epigraph is a borrowed fragment given new context. It is the worn Latin text carved into a cornerstone, the italicized Dickinson stanza hovering above a novel's first page, the bronze dedication on a war memorial weathering to verdigris—a whisper from another time, placed deliberately to shadow all that follows.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἐπιγραφή (epigraphḗ, “inscription”), from ἐπιγράφω (epigráphō, “write upon”), from ἐπῐ- (epĭ-, “on, upon, over, etc.”) + γρᾰ́φω (grắphō, “to draw, paint, write, etc.”).
noun
- An inscription, especially on a building.
- A literary quotation placed at the beginning of a book or other text.
- The set of all points lying on or above the function's graph.
verb
- To provide (a literary work) with an epigraph.
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