From Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō, “to draw, paint, sketch; to write”) +‎ -ισμός (-ismós, “-ism, a suffix forming abstract nouns of action, state, condition, or doctrine”).

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹɑːf.ɪz.(ə)m/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɹæf.ɪz.(ə)m/
• Hyphenation: graph‧ism

graphism (countable and uncountable, plural graphisms)

1. The expression of thought in material symbols.
   • 1993, Randall White, Gesture and Speech, Introduction, page xix:

     The complex but fundamental relationship between language and graphism is one of the more provocative recognitions of Gesture and Speech.

   • 2014, Colonial Mediascapes, page 297:

     In effect, the analogy of writing that lies at the core of graphism has subtly colonized the conversation.

   • 2014, Rebecca Mark, Ersatz America‎^[1]:

     Visceral and biomorphic graphism resists dominant ideologies by maintaining independence from voice, but unlike other forms of disconnected graphism, visceral graphism does not engage in a degenerative turn; it inherently generates new meaning.