Cacography
/kəˈkɒɡ.rə.fi/noun
Bad or careless handwriting, or spelling that is poor or incorrect.
Did you know?Cacography is built from Greek kakos, meaning “bad” or “evil,” so the word carries a centuries-old sense that ugly writing was not just sloppy, but morally flawed.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
kakos + -graphia
“bad + writing”
Late Greek
Greek
kakographia
“bad writing; faulty spelling or handwriting”
16th Century
Latin
cacographia
“a misspelling or bad writing”
17th Century
English
cacography
“poor handwriting or incorrect spelling”