graffito

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word graffito. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word graffito, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say graffito in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word graffito you have here. The definition of the word graffito will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofgraffito, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian graffito.

Pronunciation

Noun

graffito (plural graffiti)

  1. (archaeology and related fields) An informal inscription, as by a worker or vandal.
  2. (rare) A single instance of graffiti in the art/vandalism sense.
    • 1982 April 24, Bob Nelson, “NY Cops Harass Activist Writing Graffiti”, in Gay Community News, page 3:
      One officer got out to inspect the graffito.

Usage notes

Outside of archaeology, graffiti or “a piece of graffiti” is used for the singular. As graffiti is borrowed from a plural form, prescriptivists consider singular use of graffiti incorrect: compare data/datum. The use of "graffiti" in contemporary art is a synonym to "Tags-Throw-ups-Pieces", TTP in short.

Synonyms

References

  1. ^ Jacobson, Staffan: Den spraymålade bilden. Ph.D. diss. Aerosol Art Archives, University of Lund, Sweden 1996. p. 10–11. →ISBN

Italian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ɡrafˈfi.to/
  • Rhymes: -ito
  • Hyphenation: graf‧fì‧to

Noun

graffito m (plural graffiti)

  1. graffiti

Participle

graffito (feminine graffita, masculine plural graffiti, feminine plural graffite)

  1. past participle of graffire

Related terms

Anagrams