noun
- A phrase, inscription, or sentence in which certain letters represent numerals that form a date when read in sequence.
Usage: literary; historical
Examples
- The artist embedded a chronogram in the marble plaque to commemorate the year the building was completed.
- Medieval scholars sometimes created chronograms using Latin inscriptions to record important historical dates.
- The chronogram on the church wall revealed the date of its construction through hidden numerical values in the letters.
- Deciphering a chronogram requires knowledge of Roman numeral notation and careful letter analysis.
- The museum's exhibit featured several Renaissance chronograms that demonstrated the ingenuity of period craftsmen.