Etymology

paraph

par·aph
P3A1R1A1P3H4

Today it means: A flourish made after or below one's signature, originally to prevent forgery. Full definition →

Middle English paraf ← Medieval Latin paraffus ← Middle French paraphe
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The story

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromπαράγραφος
  2. Middle French · derived fromparaphe
  3. Medieval Latin · derived fromparaffus
  4. Middle English · inherited fromparaf
  5. English todayparaph

Inherited from Middle English paraf, from Medieval Latin paraffus or its etymon Middle French paraphe, paraffe, shortening of paragraphe, from Ancient Greek παράγραφος (parágraphos).

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekπαράγραφος all →

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Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.