Ancient Greek word root · Speech & Writing

graph-: writing, drawing

graph- is an Ancient Greek root meaning “writing, drawing”. Learn its variants and explore 31 connected words.

Meaning and variants

Meaning: writing, drawing

Root forms: graph-, -graphy, -gram

Source word: γράφω — to scratch, cut into

Word family and examples

• photography

  The art and technology of producing images on photosensitive surfaces, and its digital counterpart.

• photograph

  a picture made using a camera

• telegraph

  a system for transmitting messages over distance by signals along a wire

• geography

  the study of the physical features of the earth

• biography

  an account of a person's life written by someone else

• bibliography

  a list of the books referred to in a scholarly work

• telegram

  A message transmitted by telegraph.

• choreography

  The art of creating, arranging and recording the dance movements of a work, such as a ballet.

• autograph

  a signature, especially that of a celebrity

• hologram

  A three-dimensional image of an object created by holography.

• holographic

  In the form of a hologram or holograph.

• monogram

  A sentence consisting of only one line, or an epigram consisting of only one verse, of poetry.

• typography

  The art or practice of setting and arranging type; typesetting.

• chromatography

  Any of various techniques for the qualitative or quantitative separation of the components of mixtures of compounds; all characterized by the use of a mobile phase (gas or liquid) moving relative to a stationary phase (liquid or solid) – the differences between the rates of migration of the compounds between the two phases affect the separation.

• cryptography

  The discipline that embodies the principles, means, and methods for transforming data to hide its semantic content, prevent unauthorized use, or detect modifications, while also ensuring information security through confidentiality, integrity, authentication, and nonrepudiation.

• demography

  The study of the characteristics of human populations, especially with regards to their makeup and fluctuations and the social causes behind these.

• polygraph

  A device which measures and records several physiological variables such as blood pressure, heart rate, respiration and skin conductivity while a series of questions is being posed to a subject, in an attempt to detect deception.

• phonograph

  A device that captures sound waves onto an engraved archive; a lathe.

• lithography

  The process of printing an image by drawing the image with a water-repellent material onto a hard, flat surface (typically metal), then copying the surface by applying water and ink (or the equivalent) to it and pressing another material against it.

• anagram

  A word or phrase that is created by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase.

• chronograph

  A chronogram.

• stratigraphy

  The study of rock layers and the layering process (stratification).

• pentagram

  The shape of a five-pointed star constructed of five intersecting lines meeting at the vertices, such that a central pentagon and five surrounding isosceles triangles are formed; often with magical connotations; a 5/2 (or 5/3) star polygon.

• orthography

  A method of representing a language or the sounds of language by written symbols; spelling.

• lithograph

  A printed image produced by lithography.

• telegraphy

  Any process for transmitting arbitrarily long messages over a long distance using a code, especially by means of electrified wires or radio waves using Morse code.

• choreograph

  To design and record the choreography for a dramatic work such as a ballet.

• orthographic

  Of a projection used in maps, architecture etc., in which the rays are parallel.

• sonogram

  Clipping of ultrasonogram: A medical image produced by an ultrasound echo.

• electrocardiogram

  The recording that an electrocardiograph produces.

• hydrography

  The scientific measurement and description of the physical features and conditions of navigable waters and the shoreline.

Root connections help with vocabulary recall. They are not a complete etymological history, and a spelling match alone does not prove a relationship.

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