Standard Lemma guide

autograph

adj · noun · verb · 10 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈɔːtəɡɹɑːf/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈɔtəɡɹæf/
  • General-American: [ˈɔɾəɡɹæf]
  • cot-caught-merger: /ˈɑtəɡɹæf/
  • cot-caught-merger: [ˈɑɾəɡɹæf]
  • CMU ARPABET: AO1 T AH0 G R AE2 F Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Written in the author’s own handwriting.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Made by the artist himself or herself; authentic.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: art, arts

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A person’s own handwriting, especially the signature of a famous or admired person.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Some autograph-hunters were pestering the players after the game.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A person's signature used as a mark of formal approval.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly, colloquial

Examples

  • If you could just put your autograph on the ol’ contract, please...

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A manuscript in the author’s handwriting; a handwritten copy.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

verb

Meaning 6

To sign, or write one’s name or signature on a book, etc.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

7

verb

Meaning 7

To write something in one's own handwriting.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: transitive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

8

noun

Meaning 8

a person's own signature

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: John Hancock

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: signature

9

noun

Meaning 9

something written by one's own hand

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: writing, written material, piece of writing

Narrower terms: manuscript, holograph

10

verb

Meaning 10

mark with one's signature

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • The author autographed his book

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: inscribe

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: sign

History

Etymology

From Latin autographum, in turn from Ancient Greek αὐτόγραφον (autógraphon, “a writing in one’s own hand”). Equivalent to auto- + -graph.

Across languages

Translations

110 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: ръкописен (rǎkopisen) — hand-written manuscript
  • Finnish: käsin kirjoitettu — hand-written manuscript
  • French: autographe — hand-written manuscript
  • Greek: ιδιόγραφος (idiógrafos) — hand-written manuscript
  • Greek: ιδιόχειρος (idiócheiros) — hand-written manuscript
  • Italian: autografo — hand-written manuscript
  • Portuguese: autógrafo — hand-written manuscript
  • Afrikaans: handtekening — signature
  • Albanian: autograf — signature
  • Arabic: تَوْقِيع (tawqīʕ) — signature
  • Arabic: أُوتُوجْرَاف (ʔōtōgrāf) — signature
  • Arabic: اوتوجراف (otogrāf) — signature
  • Armenian: ինքնագիր (inkʻnagir) — signature
  • Belarusian: аўтограф (awtóhraf) — signature
  • Bengali: দস্তখত (dostokhot) — signature
  • Bengali: অটোগ্রাফ (oṭōgraph) — signature
  • Bulgarian: автогра́ф (avtográf) — signature
  • Catalan: autògraf — signature
  • Chinese Mandarin: 簽名 /签名 (qiānmíng) — signature
  • Crimean Tatar: avtograf — signature
  • Czech: autogram — signature
  • Czech: podpis — signature
  • Danish: autograf — signature
  • Dutch: handtekening — signature
  • Esperanto: aŭtografo — signature
  • Estonian: autogramm — signature
  • Finnish: nimikirjoitus — signature
  • French: signature — signature
  • French: autographe — signature
  • Georgian: ავტოგრაფი (avṭograpi) — signature
  • German: Autogramm — signature
  • German: Unterschrift — signature
  • Greek: αυτόγραφο (aftógrafo) — signature
  • Hebrew: חתימה (khatima) — signature
  • Hindi: ऑटोग्राफ (ŏṭogrāph) — signature
  • Hindi: दस्तख़त (dastaxat) — signature
  • Hungarian: saját kezű aláírás — signature
  • Hungarian: autogram — signature
  • Icelandic: eiginhandaráritun — signature
  • Indonesian: tanda tangan — signature
  • Italian: autografo — signature
  • Japanese: サイン (sain) — signature
  • Japanese: 自署 (jisho) — signature
  • Japanese: 肉筆 (nikuhitsu) — signature
  • Wawa: sulat-lagyu — signature
  • Kazakh: қолтаңба (qoltañba) — signature
  • Korean: 사인 (sain) — signature
  • Latvian: autogrāfs — signature
  • Lithuanian: autografas — signature
  • Macedonian: автограм (avtogram) — signature
  • Norwegian Bokmål: autograf — signature
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: autograf — signature
  • Persian: امضاء (emzâ') — signature
  • Polish: autograf — signature
  • Portuguese: autógrafo — signature
  • Romanian: autograf — signature
  • Russian: авто́граф (avtógraf) — signature
  • Serbo-Croatian: аутограм — signature
  • Serbo-Croatian: autogram — signature
  • Slovak: autogram — signature
  • Slovene: avtogram — signature
  • Slovene: podpis — signature
  • Spanish: firma — signature
  • Spanish: autógrafo — signature
  • Swedish: autograf — signature
  • Turkish: imza — signature
  • Ukrainian: автограф (avtohraf) — signature
  • Urdu: آٹوگِراف (āṭogirāf) — signature
  • Urdu: دستخط — signature
  • Yiddish: אויטאָגראַפֿ (oytograf) — signature
  • Bulgarian: ръкопи́с (rǎkopís) — hand-written manuscript
  • Bulgarian: автогра́ф (avtográf) — hand-written manuscript
  • Catalan: autògraf — hand-written manuscript
  • Chinese Mandarin: 手稿 (shǒugǎo) — hand-written manuscript
  • Esperanto: manuskripto — hand-written manuscript
  • Esperanto: aŭtografo — hand-written manuscript
  • Finnish: käsikirjoitus — hand-written manuscript
  • French: autographe — hand-written manuscript
  • German: eigenhändige Niederschrift des Verfassers — hand-written manuscript
  • German: Autograph — hand-written manuscript
  • Greek: χειρόγραφο (cheirógrafo) — hand-written manuscript
  • Icelandic: eiginhandarrit — hand-written manuscript
  • Italian: manoscritto — hand-written manuscript
  • Italian: autografia — hand-written manuscript
  • Wawa: sulat-lagyu — hand-written manuscript
  • Polish: autograf — hand-written manuscript
  • Polish: manuskrypt — hand-written manuscript
  • Polish: rękopis — hand-written manuscript
  • Portuguese: autógrafo — hand-written manuscript
  • Albanian: autograf — to sign, or write one’s name or signature on a book
  • Bulgarian: подписвам (podpisvam) — to sign, or write one’s name or signature on a book
  • Catalan: autografiar — to sign, or write one’s name or signature on a book
  • Esperanto: aŭtografi — to sign, or write one’s name or signature on a book
  • Finnish: nimikirjoittaa — to sign, or write one’s name or signature on a book
  • Finnish: antaa nimikirjoitus — to sign, or write one’s name or signature on a book
  • French: dédicacer — to sign, or write one’s name or signature on a book
  • French: signer — to sign, or write one’s name or signature on a book
  • Greek: υπογράφω ιδιοχείρως (ypográfo idiocheíros) — to sign, or write one’s name or signature on a book
  • Icelandic: árita — to sign, or write one’s name or signature on a book
  • Italian: autografare — to sign, or write one’s name or signature on a book
  • Macedonian: потпишува (potpišuva) — to sign, or write one’s name or signature on a book
  • Portuguese: autografar — to sign, or write one’s name or signature on a book
  • Spanish: autografiar — to sign, or write one’s name or signature on a book
  • Yiddish: אויטאָגראַפֿירן (oytografirn) — to sign, or write one’s name or signature on a book
  • Albanian: autograf — to write something in one’s own handwriting
  • Finnish: kirjoittaa käsin — to write something in one’s own handwriting
  • Greek: γράφω ιδιοχείρως (gráfo idiocheíros) — to write something in one’s own handwriting
  • Portuguese: autografar — to write something in one’s own handwriting
  • Spanish: autografiar — to write something in one’s own handwriting
  • Spanish: manuscribir — to write something in one’s own handwriting
Real reading context

autograph in complete knowledge articles