n.
A flourish made after or below a signature, originally to prevent forgery.
[French paraphe, from Old French paraffe, abbreviated signature, from Medieval Latin paraphus, paragraph sign, short for paragraphus. See paragraph.]
Dictionary:
par·aph (păr'əf, pə-ră')
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[French paraphe, from Old French paraffe, abbreviated signature, from Medieval Latin paraphus, paragraph sign, short for paragraphus. See paragraph.]
| Wordsmith Words: paraph |
(PAR-uhf, puh-RAF)
noun
A flourish at the end of a signature, originally as a precaution against forgery.
Etymology
Via French and Latin from Greek paragraphos (a line showing a break in sense or a change of speakers), from para- (beside) + graphein (write). Ultimately from the Indo-European root gerbh- (to scratch), which also gave us crab, crayfish, carve, crawl, grammar, anagram, program, and graphite
Examples of paraphs (would that be paraphernalia?) : artlex.com/ArtLex/P.html#anchor5714739.
| Obscure Words: paraph |
| WordNet: paraph |
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
a flourish added after or under your signature (originally to protect against forgery)
Copyrights:
![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Wordsmith Words. © 2009 Wordsmith.org. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Obscure Words. © 2008 by Michael A. Fischer http://home.comcast.net/~wwftd. Read more | |
![]() | WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more |