Graphical

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈɡɹæfɪkəl/

Definitions

1. Relating to visual representations such as diagrams, charts, or images used to convey information or data
2. Pertaining to visual elements like illustrations, designs, or charts that serve to represent information or data in a clear manner
3. Associated with the visual aspect of representations, including drawings, images, and diagrams that communicate ideas or data effectively

Etymology: "Graphical" is simply "graphic" with the adjective-forming suffix "-al" added, and the chain of borrowings behind that suffix is longer than the word itself. The root goes back to the Proto-Indo-European *h₂el-, which gave Latin a suffix "-ālis" meaning "pertaining to." It passed into Old French as "-al" and "-el," and reached Middle English as "-al," which English then attached freely to nouns and adjectives it already had. The word "graphic" is the base, and it comes from the Greek "graphikos," from "graphein," meaning "to write" or "to draw." "Graphical" therefore amounts to "pertaining to writing or drawing," and the modern sense of "related to visual images" grew out of that drawing sense. The suffix itself does nothing more than mark the word as an adjective, which is why "graphical" and "graphic" are used so closely together.

Synonyms: visual, pictorial, illustrative, diagrammatic

Antonyms: verbal, textual