Monday, April 28, 2008

LEARN A WORD A DAY 3

epigram (EP-i-gram) noun

A short witty saying, often in verse.

[From Middle English, from Latin epigramma, from Greek epigramma, from epigraphein (to write, inscribe), from epi- (upon, after) + graphein (to write). Other words originating from the same root are graphite, paragraph, program, and topography.]

According to poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
What is an epigram? A dwarfish whole; Its body brevity, and wit its soul.

Here is one from Benjamin Franklin that truly demonstrates the power of a pithy epigram: Little strokes Fell great oaks

No comments: