Dear Dr. Ink:
Earlier today I was watching a news report about the latest bus bombing in Jerusalem. The announcer said they were going to show us some “graphic” images. Why do they say “graphic” when they mean to say “disturbing”?
Here’s another misuse of “graphic.” I’m watching “Meet the Press” and Tim Russert says he’s going to put up a “graphic.” The next thing that appears is a bunch of text.
Why do TV folks have such a problem with “graphic”? Any ideas?
Answer:
This ancient Greek verb graphein meant ‘to write.’ Over the centuries that root has given us graph, graphics, graphic, paragraph, graphical, graphite, and other, more technical, words. For example, a ‘grapheme’ is a letter of the alphabet. And ‘graphology’ is the study of handwriting to reveal character.
It has only been in the last two or three decades that the word ‘graphic’ has evolved from adjective to noun.
As a modifier, the word can mean, according to the American Heritage Dictionary:
- Something in writing
- Something rendered in a picture
- Described in vivid detail
- Related to the graphic arts
The writer complains that ‘graphic’ is misused to mean ‘disturbing.’ That confusion comes from the third meaning above: “described in vivid detail.” In crime reporting, in pornography, in pulp fiction, in medical reporting, in trial testimony, a scene may be described in such detail that it is shocking or disturbing.
(An informal version of saying “You don’t have to be so graphic” is the acronym TMI, or “Too Much Information.”)
As a noun, the word means:
- A work of graphic art
- A picture used as an illustration, as in a lecture
Tim Russert is probably stretching this second sense, but only slightly. Text is often used as part of a graphic, as in a locator map or a timeline.
Finally, the word ‘graphics’ looks like a plural noun but often takes a singular or a plural verb form, depending upon the context: “Graphics is an important tool for journalists who want to make their stories perfectly clear.” But also, “Graphics make the story the story clearer.”
