Graphic

How to spell graphic

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce graphic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does graphic mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to visual art, drawing, or design; or giving vivid, explicit detail.
2. nounA visual image, illustration, or piece of design used to convey information.

Graphic in a sentence

• adjective

  The report included a graphic chart of quarterly sales.

• noun

  The designer added a bold graphic to the front of the brochure.

• adjective

  She gave a graphic account of the accident that left everyone shaken.

• noun

  The news channel flashed a graphic showing the election results.

Where does graphic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

The word graphic comes from the Greek graphikos, meaning 'concerning drawing or writing', which was built on the verb graphein, literally 'to write, scratch, or draw'. The Greeks originally thought of writing as scratching marks into a surface, so the same root underlies a whole family of English words including 'photograph', 'autograph', and 'graph' itself. Latin adopted the term as graphicus, and English took it in around the early 1600s, first describing things vividly written or drawn. From there the sense broadened: by the nineteenth century 'graphic' could describe any vivid, lifelike description and also the visual arts of drawing and design. The 'ph' spelling, pronounced like an 'f', is the lasting fingerprint of its Greek origin and is the part writers most often need to remember.

How the word is built

• graph (from Greek graphein: to write/draw)
• -ic (adjective suffix)