calligraphy
noun
cal·lig·ra·phy
kə-ˈli-grə-fē 
1
a
: artistic, stylized, or elegant handwriting or lettering
b
: the art of producing such writing
2
3
: an ornamental line in drawing or painting
Did you know?
Kalli- is a Greek root meaning "beautiful", and "beautiful" in the case of calligraphy means artistic, stylized, and elegant. Calligraphy has existed in many cultures, including Indian, Persian, and Islamic cultures; Arabic puts a particularly high value on beautiful script, and in East Asia calligraphy has long been considered a major art. Calligraphers in the West use pens with wide nibs, with which they produce strokes of widely differing width within a single letter.
Examples of calligraphy in a Sentence
she specializes in scrollwork with beautiful calligraphy
Recent Examples on the Web
Fritz, meanwhile, has seen a 200% bump in web traffic compared to the same period last year, and says she's already sold out a quarter of her Penny Post calligraphy classes for next year.
—
Mimi Montgomery, Axios, 23 Oct. 2024
Enshrining words in sacred objects such as the Torah or giving them visual presence through Quranic calligraphy, Jews and Muslims give language the heft of a stone statue that can hold the breath of amalgamation and distillation with the grace of Venus or Vishnu.
—Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
Xu is known for his invention of a new calligraphy system made up of English letters.
—Tianwei Zhang, WWD, 20 Oct. 2024
Kim has time to practice calligraphy and write poetry.
—Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for calligraphy 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Mimi Montgomery, Axios, 23 Oct. 2024
Enshrining words in sacred objects such as the Torah or giving them visual presence through Quranic calligraphy, Jews and Muslims give language the heft of a stone statue that can hold the breath of amalgamation and distillation with the grace of Venus or Vishnu.
—Jonathon Keats, Forbes, 29 Oct. 2024
Xu is known for his invention of a new calligraphy system made up of English letters.
—Tianwei Zhang, WWD, 20 Oct. 2024
Kim has time to practice calligraphy and write poetry.
—Max Kim, Los Angeles Times, 17 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for calligraphy
Articles Related to calligraphy
Dictionary Entries Near calligraphy
Cite this Entry
“Calligraphy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calligraphy. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
calligraphy
noun
cal·lig·ra·phy
kə-ˈlig-rə-fē
1
a
: beautiful handwriting
b
: the art of producing such handwriting
calligrapher
noun
-rə-fər
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share