epigram
noun
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Ancient Greeks and Romans used the word epigramma (from Greek epigraphein, meaning "to write on") to refer to a concise, witty, and often satirical verse. The Roman poet Martial (who published eleven books of these epigrammata, or epigrams, between the years 86 and 98 C.E.) was a master of the form: "You puff the poets of other days, / the living you deplore. / Spare me the accolade: your praise / Is not worth dying for." English speakers adopted the "verse" sense of the word when we first used epigram for a concise poem dealing pointedly and often satirically with a single thought or event in the 15th century. In the late 18th century, we began using epigram for concise, witty sayings, even if they didn't rhyme.
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Examples of epigram in a Sentence
E. L. Doctorow, The New Yorker, 1 July 2024
Chevalier wrote that the idea for the reports had come from Oppenheimer, who helped to write them and even chose literary references for the epigrams.
—TIME, 8 Mar. 2024
One of the book's epigrams is from Amy Richlin of the University of California, Los Angeles, talking about her experience in the 1970s.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 8 Nov. 2023
An epigram for one of his chapters in The Real Anthony Fauci, a quote from C. S. Lewis, offers a hint: Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.
—Matthew Scully, National Review, 16 May 2023
An epigram by any other name .
—Bryan A. Garner, National Review, 15 Sep. 2022
Unlike those, an epigram has a flash of pleasing humor in it.
—Bryan A. Garner, National Review, 15 Sep. 2022
The epigram is applicable to the current stock market flavor-of-the-year, SPACs, or Special Purpose Acquisition Corporations.
—Jerry Weissman, Forbes, 9 Apr. 2021
Some female citizens managed huge fortunes, such as those that appear in epigrams by the first century poet Martial.
—National Geographic, 4 Nov. 2019
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'epigram.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Epigram.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epigram. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
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epigram
noun
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