| 词组 | graffiti, graffito |
| 释义 | graffiti, graffito Before the 1960's, graffiti and its singular graffito most often referred to writings or drawings on ancient walls or artifacts. Art historians, language historians, archaeologists, and the like were the main users of this term (which came into English from Italian), and they discriminated between the singular and plural forms. • ... a graffito in hieroglyphic Hittite —Maurice Vieyra, Hittite Art 2300-750 B.C., 1955 • Among the many graffiti left on the pedestal —M. R. Dobie, translation of Alexandre Moret, The Nile and Egyptian Civilization, 1927 In the 1960s the creation of graffiti evolved from an incidental to an obtrusive cultural phenomenon, and as the phenomenon overspread public places, the word graffiti invaded the household. Many people came to know the word only as graffiti, not realizing that graffito was available when a singular was needed. As a result, graffiti is sometimes used as a mass noun with a singular verb: • ... the graffiti is being covered with fresh paint — Springfield (Mass.) Union, 8 Jan. 1970 • Graffiti comes in various styles —S. K. Oberbeck, Newsweek, 1 Oct. 1973 • ... urban surfaces where graffiti is typically found — Mark Mendel, Visible Language, Summer 1975 This use is not yet as well established as the mass-noun use of data, but it does fill a gap left by graffito, which is virtually always a count noun, not a mass noun. • ... a crudely drawn graffito —Herbert Mitgang, N. Y. Times, 13 Mar. 1983 • ... a lovely graffito I saw recently —David Halber-stam, Playboy, July 1973 Use of graffiti as a singular count noun is rare in print, but together with the rare use of graffito as a plural, it reveals how confusing some people find this word— even (or maybe especially) when they are trying their hardest to get it right: • ... a graffiti on the wall —Times Literary Supp., 30 Apr. 1971 • ... one of the most sophisticated graffito I have ever encountered —Clive Barnes, Punch, 23 Mar. 1976 • Graffiti ... is evidently growing by leaps and occasionally out of bounds... • ... told us he has collected more than 2,000 individual graffito—yes, that's the singular —Cleveland Amory, Saturday Rev., 7 Jan. 1967 The evidence we have for this word used as an attributive shows that either form can be used. To our ear, at least, unless the sense is clearly one of a single inscription or slogan, graffiti sounds better as an attributive than graffito, probably because of graffitfs dual role as a plural and as a singular mass noun. • ... recorded in graffiti inscriptions —Louis H. Gray, Foundations of Language, 1939 • ... the names of other graffito-writers —Bill Win-gell, National Observer, 2 Aug. 1971 • Picasso's graffito manner fits in well with the anonymous political daubs on the walls nearby — Anthony Burgess, N.Y. Times Mag., 4 Dec. 1977 • ... ubiquitous icons of graffiti art —Cathleen McGuigan, N.Y. Times Mag., 10 Feb. 1985 Mass-noun use of graffiti continues to grow apace and may establish itself fully in time. For now, however, we feel that traditional count use is safer: • The graffiti announce that we have left the Catholic area and are moving in Protestant streets —Brian Moore, Atlantic, September 1970 For other foreign plurals, see Latin plurals. |
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