GRAFFITO

[graf.fi.to] n, pl -ti [It, incised inscription, fr. graffiare to scratch, prob. fr. grafio stylus, fr. L graphium] (1851): an inscription or drawing made on some public surface (as a rock or wall); also: a message or slogan written as or as if as a graffito -- graf.fi.tist n usage The plural graffiti is sometimes used with a singular verb as a mass noun "the graffiti is being covered with fresh paint --Springfield (Mass.) Union" "graffiti comes in various styles --S. K. Oberbeck" but this use is not yet as well established as the mass-noun use of data. Use of graffiti as a singular count noun is still quite rare and is not standard.