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Subject:Re: epigram (Was re: Problem sentence) From:"Segal, Betty S." <bss3 -at- PHPMTS1 -dot- EM -dot- CDC -dot- GOV> Date:Sun, 11 Sep 1994 14:39:00 EST
Both _Words into Type_ and The Chicago Manual of Style_ call a quotation in
the front matter of a book an _epigraPH_. (emphasis mine)
_The American Heritage Dictionary_, 3rd edition, gives these definitions:
epigram: "1. A short, witty poem expressing a single thought or observation.
2. A concise, clever, often paradoxical statement. . . . 3. Epigrammatic
discourse or expression. . . ."
epigraph: "1. An inscription, as on a statue or building. 2. A motto or
quotation, as at the beginning of a literary composition, setting forth a
theme. . . ."
A minor difference in spelling--a major difference in meaning.
Betty Segal
Sr. Training Development Specialist (Instructional Editor)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
BSS3 -at- PHPMTS1 -dot- EM -dot- CDC -dot- GOV