Sigmography
/sɪɡˈmɒɡrəfi/noun
A system or practice of writing with signs or symbols, especially a form of shorthand.
Did you know?Its second element descends from Greek graphein, originally connected with scratching or carving marks—so writing began, quite literally, as incision into a surface.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*gerbh-
“To scratch, carve, or make incised marks; the reconstructed root behind the Greek writing family.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
gráphein
“To scratch, draw, write, or record.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
sîgma
“The name of the Greek letter sigma, ultimately borrowed from the Phoenician letter-name sāmek.”
Ancient Greek
Greek
graphḗ
“Writing or a written mark; the source of the combining form -graphy.”
19th Century
English
sigmography
“A coined technical term for writing by signs or symbols, particularly shorthand.”
Modern English
English
sigmography
“A system or practice of symbolic or shorthand writing.”