γράφω

Ancient Greek

Etymology

From Proto-Hellenic *grəpʰō, from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ-. Cognates include Old English ċeorfan (English carve), Old Church Slavonic жрѣбъ (žrěbŭ).

Pronunciation

Verb

γρᾰ́φω • (gráphō)

1. (Homeric) to scratch, cut into
   • 800 BCE – 600 BCE, Homer, Iliad 17.599:

     γράψεν δέ οἱ ὀστέον ἄχρις / αἰχμὴ Πουλυδάμαντος

     grápsen dé hoi ostéon ákhris / aikhmḕ Pouludámantos […]

     and the spearpoint of Polydamas scratched him close to the bone

2. to draw, sketch, paint
3. to write
4. to write down, propose a law
   • 430 BCE – 354 BCE, Xenophon, Hellenica 1.7.34:

     ταῦτ’ εἰπὼν Εὐρυπτόλεμος ἔγραψε γνώμην κατὰ τὸ Καννωνοῦ ψήφισμα κρίνεσθαι τοὺς ἄνδρας δίχα ἕκαστον.

     taût’ eipṑn Euruptólemos égrapse gnṓmēn katà tò Kannōnoû psḗphisma krínesthai toùs ándras díkha hékaston.

     After saying this, Euryptolemus proposed a resolution that the men be tried under the decree of Cannonus, each one separately.

5. (middle voice)
   1. (indirect reflexive) write down for oneself, note down
      • 366 BCE – 348 BCE, Plato, Theaetetus 143a:

        Τερψίων   ἀτὰρ τίνες ἦσαν οἱ λόγοι; ἔχοις ἂν διηγήσασθαι;
        Εὐκλείδης   οὐ μὰ τὸν Δία, ἀλλ’ ἐγραψάμην μὲν τότ’ εὐθὺς οἴκαδ’ ἐλθὼν ὑπομνήματα .

        Terpsíōn   atàr tínes êsan hoi lógoi? ékhois àn diēgḗsasthai?
        Eukleídēs   ou mà tòn Día, […] all’ egrapsámēn mèn tót’ euthùs oíkad’ elthṑn hupomnḗmata […] .

        Terpsion: But what was the talk? Can you repeat it?
        Eucleides: No, by Zeus, but I wrote myself notes as soon as I came home.

   2. to indict, prosecute
      • 330 BCE, Demosthenes, On the Crown 13:

        δεῖ ταῖς ἐκ τῶν νόμων τιμωρίαις παρ’ αὐτὰ τἀδικήματα χρῆσθαι, εἰ δὲ γράφοντα παράνομα, παρανόμων γραφόμενον

        deî […] taîs ek tôn nómōn timōríais par’ autà tadikḗmata khrêsthai, […] ei dè gráphonta paránoma, paranómōn graphómenon

        he must make use of the legal punishments for these crimes: if proposed illegal measures, to indict for breaking the law

      οἱ γραψάμενοι

      hoi grapsámenoi

      the prosecutors

6. (perfect passive) be written down, be in written form
   • 366 BCE – 348 BCE, Plato, Theaetetus 143a:

     Εὐκλείδης   ὥστε μοι σχεδόν τι πᾶς ὁ λόγος γέγραπται.

     Eukleídēs   […] hṓste moi skhedón ti pâs ho lógos gégraptai.

     Eucleides:   So I have pretty much the whole conversation written down.

Inflection

Derived terms

Descendants

• Greek: γράφω (gráfo)
• Mariupol Greek: гра́фту (hráftu)
• → Italian: graffire

References

• Bauer, Walter et al. (2001) A Greek–English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, Third edition, Chicago: University of Chicago Press
• γράφω in Cunliffe, Richard J. (1924) A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect: Expanded Edition, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, published 1963
• “γράφω”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press

Further reading

• “γράφω”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• “γράφω”, in Autenrieth, Georg (1891) A Homeric Dictionary for Schools and Colleges, New York: Harper and Brothers
• “γράφω”, in Slater, William J. (1969) Lexicon to Pindar, Berlin: Walter de Gruyter
• G1125 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• γράφω in Trapp, Erich, et al. (1994–2007) Lexikon zur byzantinischen Gräzität besonders des 9.-12. Jahrhunderts [the Lexicon of Byzantine Hellenism, Particularly the 9th–12th Centuries], Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften

Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō), from Proto-Hellenic *grəpʰō, from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ-. For the stems, see Related terms.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɣra.fo/
• Hyphenation: γρά‧φω

Verb

γράφω • (gráfo) (past έγραψα, passive γράφομαι)

1. to write, pen

   Γράφετε βιβλίο;

   Gráfete vivlío?

   Are you writing a book?

2. to record
3. to issue a ticket (for traffic violation, etc)

Conjugation

Antonyms

• ξεγράφω (xegráfo, “strike out”)

Related terms

More than 60 compounds with -γράφω or -γραφώ e.g.

• αντιγράφω (antigráfo, “to copy, to cheat”)
• εγγράφω (engráfo, “enrol, register”)
• επιγράφω (epigráfo, “inscribe, entitle”)
• σκηνογραφώ (skinografó, “direct film or play”)
• συγγράφω (syngráfo, “to write (a book, etc), to author”)
• υπογράφω (ypográfo, “to sign”)

From stems:

• γραφ- (-γραφία, -γράφος, -γράφημα, -γράφηση) e.g.
  • καταγραφικό (katagrafikó, “chart recorder, datalogger”)
• γραφσ- > γραψ-
  • εγγράψιμος (engrápsimos, “able to be enrolled”)
  • γράψιμο n (grápsimo, “writing”)
• γραφμ- > γραμμ-
• γραπτός (graptós, “written”) and γραπτ-

References

Italiot Greek

Etymology

From Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō), from Proto-Hellenic *grəpʰō, from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡra.fo/
• Hyphenation: γρά‧φω

Verb

γράφω (Latin spelling grafo)

1. (Apulia, Calabrian) to write