Commonly used graphological terms
- Alignment – The spatial organization of the writing on the page
- Amplification – The enlarging of the letter forms more than normal
- Analysis – The graphological conclusions
- Angular – A connective form, characterized by points on the change of direction in a letterform or connection.
- Arcade – A connection in the shape of an arch, closed at the top
- Arrhythmic – Disturbed flow of the overall movement in the rhythmic quality of a handwriting
- Baseline – The line, imaginary or actual, on which the writing rests
- Calligraphy – The art of beautiful writing
- Character trait – One facet of general attitude and behaviour
- Connection, degree of – The extent to which individual letters are joined to produce connected writing
- Connection, form of – The way in which letters are joined in connected writing, namely arcade, garland, angular, thread, copybook and wavy line (qqv)
- Copybook – The style used to teach the basics of handwriting in schools; the connective form which characterizes it
- Covering stroke – A stroke which covers another, instead of opening out
- Direction – The way in which a line of writing proceeds – in the Western world, left to right
- Disconnected script – Writing in which the individual letters of a word are not joined by a connecting stroke, often called printscript
- Dominant – One of the main characteristics in the writing analysed
- Ego – The conscious inner self, the balance between the conscience and the pleasures of life. The image of oneself
- Elaboration – Letterforms written in a fancy style, often tasteless
- Evenness – Relating mainly to the regular formation of letters in a word
- Flexible – Not rigid in movement
- Flourish – A fancy stroke, often in the initial or the signature; can also be at the end of a letter
- Form – The shape of letters
- Form Level – The overall appearance of a handwriting, the accent being on speed, spacing and the form of the letters; rhythm and originality are a prime factor. It sets the standard from which the traits of the handwriting are judged – positive or negative
- Fullness – Describes letters in which more than normal space is evident, mainly in the loops (qv)
- Garland – A form of connection in which the letters ‘n’ and ‘m’ are open at the top, resembling ‘u’ and ‘w’
- Graphology – The study of handwriting to determine the character and personality of the writer
- Initial stroke – A pen stroke at the beginning of a letter, not always essential
- Loop – A round or oval shape that curves around to cross itself; can be open
- Margin – The space left at the sides, top and bottom of a sheet of writing, acting as a frame
- Negative – A reaction or behaviour pattern which would not benefit the writer Ornamentation – An additional embellishment to a letter-form, which serves no purpose (except in a calligraphy script)
- Pastose – Thick as in a stroke formed by the pen being held at an acute slanting angle; the resultant ink looks as though it is painted on
- Positive – A characteristic which benefits the writer; an efficient indication
- PPI – The personal pronoun “I”
- Pressure – The depth of the stroke, from which there would be an indentation on the reverse of the paper
- Resting dot – A dot formed either by pressure or ink spread when the pen stops the writing movement, while still resting on the paper
- Rhythm – The flow of the writing movement which gives life to the overall pattern; an interplay of tension and release
- Shading – The contrast between the thick down strokes and the thin up strokes in the handwriting
- Sharp – Thin, sharp, as in a stroke with points
- Sign – A piece of writing, word or letter indicating a characteristic (a factor)
- Signature – A personal sign in whatever form it is manifested; it is a person’s mark of recognition – not necessarily legible
- Simplified – A piece of writing devoid of superfluous strokes; it must remain legible to be a positive indication
- Slant – The inclination of writing – leftward, upright and rightward
- Speed – The tempo of the writing movement
- Stroke – A single written line in whatever direction
- Temperament – The writer’s individual tendencies, relating to the emotions
- Tension/release – The muscular action necessary to produce the arm, wrist and finger movements
- Thread – A form of connection appearing as a slight wavy line, with no definition
- Wavy line – A form of connection with a wavy appearance, but more definition than a thread (see above)
- Width – The distance between the strokes of a letter
- Zones – The upper, middle and lower parts of a letter; the Western ‘f has all three zones in a single letter