Autographos

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Relating to or written in the handwriting of the original author; a manuscript written entirely by the creator's own hand; a signature or inscription produced personally by an individual
2. Pertaining to text produced directly by the author’s own pen; an original document written by the originating person; a personal signature or handwritten note from an individual
3. Describing something penned firsthand by the writer without transcription; an original piece created in the author’s handwriting; a personally inscribed autograph or signed message

Etymology: Ancient Greek readers needed a way to tell a text apart from its copies. Most books were reproduced by professional scribes, and many authors dictated their work rather than writing it out themselves. A text the writer had actually penned was therefore marked with a compound built from "autos," meaning "self," and "graphein," meaning "to write." The Latin "autographum" carried the same sense, and English took the word from Late Latin, keeping the idea of the author's own hand. The meaning later widened from a manuscript written by its creator to a signature or inscription made personally, which is why a writer's own handwritten page and a name penned on a book's title page both count as autographs.

Synonyms: autographs, signatures