graphology
nounUK /ɡɹæˈfɒ.lə.d͡ʒi/ · US /ɡɹæˈfɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/
Etymology From French graphologie, coined by Jean-Hippolyte Michon from Ancient Greek γραφή (graphḗ, “writing”) + French -logie (“study of”). By surface analysis, grapho- + -logy.
1
Usually The study of handwriting, especially as a means of analyzing a person's character.
- Near-synonym: psychographology (sometimes synonymous)
- Graphology, or handwriting analysis, is the study and interpretation of handwriting as an indicator of personality. Professional graphologists offer four primary services: graphology classes to hobbyists, personality profiles to help individuals increase their self-knowledge and potential for change, personnel screening and consultation for employers, and questioned document examination, or forensic graphology, to identify forged handwriting and documents for legal purposes.1999, Lee Naftali, Joel Naftali, You're Certifiable: The Alternative Career Guide to More Than 700 Certificate Programs, Trade Schools, and Job Opportunities, page 155:
2 more examples
- The philosopher Ludwig Klages saw graphology as a means to penetrate the deceptive self-presentation of his contemporaries and unveil their true character.2003, Michael Hau, The Cult of Health and Beauty in Germany: A Social History, 1890-1930, page 50:
- Graphology and graphological deviation are likely to be very significant in a mode that lacks non-textual social cues, such as paralanguage, prosody and gesture.2006, Bethan Benwell, Elizabeth Stokoe, Discourse and Identity, page 263:
2
Usually A system of handwriting.
- "Talented" children fall into one of two classes: those with an imitative ability who readily absorb the preconceived graphologies they see about them in pictures, magazines and books, and those[…].1930, Frances E. O'Brien, Individualism in Child Art, unnumbered page:
- This 1960 work, like the black works of Rauschenberg and the graphologies of Cy Twombly, is our most patient analysis of multiplicity.1984, David Shapiro, Jasper Johns: Drawings 1954-1984, page 29:
- Derived terms
- psychographology
- Related terms
- graphogram, graphological, graphologist, chicken scratch, cursive, paleography