inscription
Text on stone
An inscription is text carved, engraved, or written on a surface—stone monuments, metal plaques, the flyleaf of a book.
The word emphasizes permanence: The inscription on the tombstone had weathered but remained legible.
A personal inscription in a gift book is a handwritten dedication: She wrote a brief inscription to her nephew on the title page.
Inscribed memorial pillar
- tabletFlat portable computing device
- obeliskTapering stone monument
- monumentStructure honoring someone remembered
- plaqueInscribed memorial tablet
tombstone · headstone · gravestone · cornerstone · milestone · boundary stone · runestone · monolith
Acid-incised metal print
- carvingShaping by cutting away
- chiselingCutting with edged tool
- incisingCutting into material
- letteringStyled written characters
intaglio · glyphs · stonecutter · burin · lapidary · relief · cameo · epigraphy
Stylus-impressed ancient script
- hieroglyphicsSymbolic picture-based writing
- pictographsSymbols depicting concepts visually
- petroglyphsCarvings on natural stone
- runesOld Germanic script
demotic · Sanskrit · Rosetta Stone · Dead Sea Scrolls · oracle bones · clay tablets · papyrus · codex
Offering of respect
- homageExpression of deep respect
- commemorationAct of honoring memory
- honoreeOne being celebrated
- acknowledgmentConfirmation of receipt
epitaph · epigraph · blessing · motto · maxim · invocation · testimonial · benediction
Unverified traditional tale
- captionText accompanying an image
- labelIdentifying attachment or marker
- headingDirectional course traveled
- titleFormal honorific or name
colophon · rubric · marginalia · annotation · superscription · subscript · watermark · hallmark
stele
Inscribed memorial pillar
- tabletFlat portable computing device
- obeliskTapering stone monument
- monumentStructure honoring someone remembered
plaque · tombstone · headstone · gravestone · cornerstone · milestone · boundary stone · runestone · monolith · sarcophagus
etching
Acid-incised metal print
lettering · intaglio · glyphs · stonecutter · burin · lapidary · relief · cameo · epigraphy · graver
cuneiform
Stylus-impressed ancient script
- hieroglyphicsSymbolic picture-based writing
- pictographsSymbols depicting concepts visually
- petroglyphsCarvings on natural stone
runes · demotic · Sanskrit · Rosetta Stone · Dead Sea Scrolls · oracle bones · clay tablets · papyrus · codex · palimpsest
tribute
Offering of respect
- homageExpression of deep respect
- commemorationAct of honoring memory
- honoreeOne being celebrated
acknowledgment · epitaph · epigraph · blessing · motto · maxim · invocation · testimonial · benediction · memorial
legend
Unverified traditional tale
- captionText accompanying an image
- labelIdentifying attachment or marker
- headingDirectional course traveled
title · colophon · rubric · marginalia · annotation · superscription · subscript · watermark · hallmark · stamp
register
Record officially; vocal range
chronicle · annals · archive · ledger · catalog · inventory · list · index · entry · docket
- autographssignature, signed photo, signed poster, signed jersey, signed card
- grave markersheadstone, gravestone, tombstone, grave marker, footstone
- inscriptionsepitaph, gravestone, headstone, epitaphs, memorial plaque
- rare booksGutenberg Bible, first edition, rare editions, rare books, first editions
- ancient inscriptionscuneiform tablets, stone tablets, stele, cuneiform, hieroglyphics
- Byzantine coinssolidus, hexagram, gold coins, silver coins, bronze coins
inscriptionblank
Without marks or content
tabula rasa · void · blankness · unmarked · clean slate
inscriptionerasure
Act of wiping away
obliteration · effacement · deletion · expunction · defacement
- royal inscriptionsMonarchs' official carved records
- ancient inscriptionsOld carved or etched writing
- Behistun inscriptionMultilingual Achaemenid rock proclamation
- magical inscriptionMystical text with power
- gravestone inscriptionsText on burial markers
- rock inscriptionsText etched in stone