graffiti
graffiti Lexical Profile
graffiti Game Scores & Validity
• noun
Writing or drawings scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly or artistically on a wall or other surface in a public place.
"The concrete underpass was covered in colorful graffiti painted by local street artists."
Ancient inscriptions, figures, or drawings scratched or incised onto walls, rocks, or pottery, studied in archaeology and history.
"Archaeologists uncovered everyday Roman graffiti preserved in the volcanic ash of Pompeii."
• verb
To write or draw graffiti on a surface.
"Someone had graffitied slogans across the side of the abandoned warehouse overnight."
Word Nuance & Usage
Although originally the plural of the Italian loanword 'graffito' (meaning a single scratched inscription), 'graffiti' is now almost universally treated in modern English as a singular uncountable mass noun Taking a singular verb, while 'graffito' is largely restricted to archaeology and art history.
• Rhymes for graffiti
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-19th century from Italian 'graffiti', the plural of 'graffito' ('a scratch or scribble'), which derives via Vulgar Latin from Ancient Greek 'graphein' ('to write or draw'). The term was originally used by archaeologists to describe ancient inscriptions scratched onto walls at Pompeii.