epigraph

1. An inscription, as on a statue or building.
2. A motto or quotation, as at the beginning of a literary composition, setting forth a theme.

[Greek epigraphē, from epigraphein, to write on. See epigram.]

epigraph, a quotation or motto placed at the beginning of a book, chapter, or poem as an indication of its theme. The term can also refer to an inscription on a monument or coin. Epigraphy is the collective term for any body of epigraphs in either sense, and for the study of epigraphs.

adjective: epigraphic.

A quotation, or a sentence composed for the purpose, placed at the beginning of a literary work or one of its separate divisions, usually suggestive of the theme.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: a quotation at the beginning of some piece of writing

Meaning #2: an engraved inscription

An epigraph is any one of the following:

• an inscription, as studied in the archeological sub-discipline of Epigraphy (archaeology)
• Epigraph (literature)
• Epigraph (mathematics)

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