From the OED:
digraph
[f. Gr. δι- twice, DI-2, + γραφή writing, etc.]
A group of two letters expressing a simple sound of speech.
a1788 T. SHERIDAN (L.), All improper diphthongs, or, as I have called
them, digraphs, are changed into the single vowels which they stand for.
1812 J. C. HOBHOUSE Journey Albania App. 1061 If these combinations of
vowels had been distinguished in writing only..their name would have been
digraphs, and not dipthongs. 1873 EARLE Philol. Eng. Tongue §193 He would
therefore recognise the consonantal digraphs ch, gh..sh, th, wh, ng, as
alphabetic characters. 1877 SWEET Phonetics 174 If..we exclude new
letters..we are obliged to fall back on digraphs.
************
trigraph
[f. Gr. τρι- TRI- + γραφή writing, drawing.]
A combination of three letters denoting a simple sound, as eau in F. beau,
sch in Ger. schaf.
1836 in SMART; hence in later Dicts.
************
polygraph
[ad. Gr.πολυγραφ -ος, -ον adj. writing much; cf. F. polygraphe (1536 in
Hatz.-Darm.), It. poligrapho (Florio) in sense 4. In senses 1-3, app.
directly f. the Greek elements.] [...]
III. 6. Cryptography. A group of two or more letters; also, in Phonetics,
a group of three or more letters expressing a simple sound of speech.
1943 L. D. SMITH Cryptogr. iv. 82 A method that represents a distinct
departure from Vignère's..is found in polygraph substitutionthat is, the
substitution of cipher digraphs or trigraphs for the plain-text digraphs or
trigraphs. 1959 Brno Studies in English I. 18 The following stage..replaced
the cumbersome digraphs (and polygraphs) by simple but diacriticized
graphemes. 1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia V. 332/1 In substitution ciphers,
the characteristic relative frequencies of single letters, digraphs, and
longer polygraphs serve as a basis for the assignment of plaintext
equivalents to cipher values.
************
"Syngraph" therefore, should not be used. Infact, the term, which today
would probably be used by scholars in reference to the following type of
document from antiquity, means "A written contract or bond signed by both or
all parties.". It is also an obsolete term: "A statement in writing made
by several persons jointly."
Certainly forms as "tetra-, penta- hexa- + graph" should be preferable,
imho, rather than mix Greek with Latin, but in practice it seems unlikely
that one would ever use such terms, except possibly in the combination of
di- and trigraphs to which diacritics were added.
Best again,
SJ
**********************************************************
Seth Jerchower 420 Walnut Street
Public Services Librarian Philadelphia, PA
19106
Center For Judaic Studies Library Tel. (215) 238-1290 ext.
203
University of Pennsylvania Fax (215) 238-1540
**********************************************************
----- Original Message -----
From: "Seth Jerchower" <sethj@pobox.upenn.edu>
To: "Unicode List" <unicode@unicode.org>
Sent: Friday, August 04, 2000 11:08 AM
Subject: Re: Off-topic: digraphs and trigraphs
> "Digraph", "trigraph" are both acceptable terms from the point of view of
> linguistic terminology. Since "graph" is of Greek, not Latin origin, one
> could suggest "polygraph" (in my opinion acceptable, though admittedly
prone
> to parody, being synonymous with "lie detector"!) or possibly "syngraph",
> tetragraph (4), pentagraph (5), etc.
>
> Best, SJ
> **********************************************************
> Seth Jerchower 420 Walnut
Street
> Public Services Librarian Philadelphia, PA
> 19106
> Center For Judaic Studies Library Tel. (215) 238-1290 ext.
> 203
> University of Pennsylvania Fax (215) 238-1540
> **********************************************************
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Doug Ewell" <dewell@compuserve.com>
> To: "Unicode List" <unicode@unicode.org>
> Sent: Thursday, August 03, 2000 10:22 PM
> Subject: Off-topic: digraphs and trigraphs
>
>
> > Does anyone know of a commonly used or commonly accepted collective
> > term for multi-character sequences (e.g. digraphs, trigraphs, etc.)?
> > I'm thinking that the word "multigraph" would be appropriate, but I
> > don't want to invent my own term if one already exists. (Besides, it
> > sounds like an early '80s software package.)
> >
> > Along the same lines, would the term "quadrigraph" be appropriate for
> > a four-character sequence?
> >
> > Thanks in advance for any tips. Please respond privately unless you
> > feel your response may be of interest to the list at large.
> >
> > -Doug Ewell
> > Fullerton, California
> >
>
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