seismograph
Meaningquake writer
Common meaning: an earthquake recorder
- seisma shaking, quakeLiddell & Scott, Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon (1889), p. 725 · scan
- graphto scratch marks, hence to write or drawLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 317 · scan
‘a shaking, quake’ + ‘to scratch marks, hence to write or draw’ → seismograph
Journey through time
Neither part’s path through time is traced in our sources yet; each root is shown from its dictionary entry.
- seism — Greek σεισμός “a shaking, quake” (dictionary form; path not traced)
- graph — Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō) “to scratch marks, hence to write or draw” (dictionary form; path not traced)
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: not available. Respelling: generated.
- US IPA: not available. Respelling: generated.
Origin: Built on Greek σεισμός ‘a shaking, quake’ + Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō) ‘to scratch marks, hence to write or draw’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), entry γράφω (gráphō), p. 317 · dictionary scan
Roots
- γράφω (gráphō) Ancient Greek “to scratch marks, hence to write or draw”
- σεισμός Greek “a shaking, quake”
Related words
autobiographyautographbibliographybiographycalligraphyepigramepigraphethnographygeographylithographmonographorthography
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