— calligrapher, calligraphist , n. — calligraphic /kal'i graf"ik/ , calligraphical , adj. — calligraphically , adv.
/keuh lig"reuh fee/ , n.
1. fancy penmanship, esp. highly decorative handwriting, as with a great many flourishes: She appreciated the calligraphy of the 18th century.
2. handwriting; penmanship.
3. the art of writing beautifully: He studied calligraphy when he was a young man.
4. a script, usually cursive, although sometimes angular, produced chiefly by brush, esp. Chinese, Japanese, or Arabic writing of high aesthetic value.
5. Fine Arts. line or a group of lines either derived from or resembling letter forms and characterized by qualities usually associated with cursive writing, esp. that produced with a brush or pen.
[ 1605-15; kalligraphía beautiful writing. See CALLI-, -GRAPHY ]