DictionaryRoot: graphein
Greek
graphein
scratch, draw, write
Forms
- graph-
- gram- — From the related Greek noun gramma, ‘written mark; letter.’
- grammat- — The longer stem of gramma used before grammatical endings and in compounds.
Origin
Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *gerbh-, ‘scratch; carve.’
Note
Drawing and writing belonged to the same activity of making marks.
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noun / verb
paragraph
PAIR-uh-graf/ˈpærəɡræf/
A distinct section of writing about one topic.
Etymology
Something “written beside” was originally a stroke marking a break in sense. The name shifted from that mark to the section of writing it identified.