GRAFFITO

n. (pl. graffiti) 1 (usu. in pl.) a piece of writing or drawing scribbled, scratched, or sprayed on a surface. °Not a mass noun in this sense, and so a plural construction is needed, e.g. graffiti are (not is) an art form. 2 Art a form of decoration made by scratches on wet plaster, showing a different-coloured under-surface. [It. f. graffio a scratch]