epigraphy means inscriptions collectively. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 84 out of 100.
epigraphy is pronounced /ɪˈpɪɡ.ɹə.fi/.
Why “epigraphy” is a great word
The scholarly discipline of interpreting and deciphering inscriptions carved or engraved on durable materials like stone, metal, or clay. Its name derives from the Greek epigraphē, 'inscription,' and the abstracting suffix -y. Unlike paleography, which concerns the fluid hand of scribes on parchment or papyrus, or the sweeping material scope of archaeology, epigraphy is the precise science of the etched word. It is the tracing of a finger over weathered Latin capitals on a funerary slab, the painstaking cleaning of soot from a Babylonian foundation stone, and the angled light revealing a mason's error in a royal decree—a discipline built on reading what was meant to last forever, in the silent language of erosion.
Etymology
From epigraph + -y.
noun
- Inscriptions collectively.
- The study or decipherment of inscriptions, especially of ancient ones.