Graphic Design and Graphic Violence Share One Root
Graphic means relating to drawing, and also vividly detailed. Both senses come from a Greek verb meaning to write or draw.
Graphic has two everyday senses that look unrelated until you see the root. Greek *graphein* means to write or draw. So graphic design is about drawn things, and a graphic description is one so vivid you can see it. The second sense is why warnings say *graphic content*.
- Relating to drawing or visual art. *Graphic design.*
- Vivid and explicit. *A graphic account of the crash.*
- A visual image. *An on-screen graphic.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Adjective | graphic | A graphic image. |
| Adverb | graphically | Graphically described. |
| Noun | graphics | Computer graphics. |
| Noun | graphic | A news graphic. |
| Compound | graphic novel | A graphic novel. |
How it is used in a sentence
- She works in graphic design.The visual sense.
- The report contains graphic descriptions.A warning, meaning explicit.
- The graphics take up most of the memory.Plural noun for images in software.
Words from the same Greek root
- Photograph — written with light
- Autograph — written by oneself
- Biography — a life written down
- Telegraph — writing at a distance
- Calligraphy — beautiful writing
From Latin *graphicus*, from Greek *graphikos*, of drawing or writing, from *graphein*. The explicit sense grew in the nineteenth century out of the idea of a description as vivid as a picture.
What is a graphic novel?
A book-length story told in comics form. The name was adopted partly to mark it out from periodical comics.
Graphic or explicit?
They overlap. Explicit means nothing is left out; graphic means it is described so vividly you can picture it.