Diagram

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈdaɪ.ə.ɡɹæm/

Definitions

1. A visual representation using lines, shapes, and symbols to illustrate relationships, structures, or processes
2. A graphical depiction that employs various shapes and lines to convey information about relationships, systems, or concepts
3. An illustration composed of symbols and geometric figures designed to clarify complex ideas, connections, or processes

Etymology: The Greek original was "diágramma," built from "diá," meaning "through" or "across," and "gráphein," "to write" or "to draw." Its first sense was simply something marked out with lines or letters, and the Greeks used the word for geometric figures, the drawn shapes that mathematicians reasoned about. A figure with lines running across it was, in effect, a picture of a proof. The word then travelled through Italian, where "diagramma" was used in the same geometric sense, and into French as "diagramme." English borrowed it from French, and the spelling "diagram" settled in as the English form. Over time the meaning widened from precise geometry to any drawing that sets out the parts of a thing or the relations between them, such as a plan, a chart, or a wiring sketch.

Synonyms: chart, figure, illustration, drawing, sketch

Antonyms: text, narrative, description, prose, verbiage