calligraphy

Etymology

Borrowed from French calligraphie, from Ancient Greek καλλιγραφία (kalligraphía, literally “pretty writing”), from κάλλος (kállos, “beauty”) + γράφω (gráphō, “to draw”).

noun

1. (uncountable) The art or practice of writing letters and words in a decorative style; the letters and words so written.
   This paper will explore the role of calligraphy on three royal mosques built during the reign of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (1628-1658):[…]. 1981, Wayne E. Begley, “2: The Symbolic Role of Calligraphy on Three Imperial Mosques of Shāh Jahān”, in Joanna Gottfried Williams, editor, Kalādarśana: American Studies in the Art of India, page 7
   There is, however, a temporal separation between the earthly crystallization of Quranic calligraphy and the advent of the Quranic revelation. 1987, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Islamic Art and Spirituality, page 27
   Calligraphy, however, can seem like a live concert recording with a shallow, raw sound and awkward "accidentals." But calligraphy has grown on me, and a distinction must be made between the calligraphy of high school diplomas and that of experts whose work is often breathtakingly beautiful. 2004, Leslie Cabarga, Logo, Font & Lettering Bible, page 78
2. (countable) Any such style of decorative writing.
   Around the corner, at Goedhuis, among more contemporary calligraphies, the fat and fuzzy brushwork of Zeng Yizeng (born 1973) stands out. March 15, 2008, Roberta Smith, “Fair Goes From Feast to Tasting Menu”, in New York Times
3. (countable) A document written in decorative style.
   2004, Diana J, Mukpo, Carolyn Rose Gimian (editors), Chogyam Trungpa, The Collected Works of Chogyam Trungpa, Volume 7, page 169, Only a small number of Trungpa Rinpoche's calligraphies have been reproduced heretofore, some in very limited editions.