graphomania

English

Etymology

grapho- +‎ -mania

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌɡɹæfəˈmeɪni.ə/
• Rhymes: -eɪniə

Noun

graphomania (usually uncountable, plural graphomanias)

1. The compulsion to write.
   • 1898, Howard Fertig, transl., Degeneration‎^[1], London: William Heinemann, translation of original by Max Nordau:

     Wagner’s graphomania is shown not only by the substance, but also by the outward form of his writings.

2. (art) Used as part of the name of various surrealist techniques, e.g., a method in which dots are made at the sites of impurities in a blank sheet of paper, and lines are then made between the dots; see "Entoptic graphomania".
   • 1998, Penelope Rosemont, editor, Surrealist Women: An International Anthology, University of Texas Press, page 113:

     A devoted explorer of decalcomania, fumage, frottage, collage and other methods of pictorial automatism, Colquhoun invented several magic-inspired techniques of her own, including graphomania, stillomania, and parsemage.

Derived terms

• entopic graphomania

Related terms

• graphomaniac

Translations

the compulsion to write

• French: graphomanie (fr) f
• Italian: grafomania (it) f
• Portuguese: grafomania f
• Romanian: grafomanie (ro) f
• Russian: графома́ния (ru) f (grafománija)
• Spanish: grafomanía (es) f