Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - epigram

 noun  Etymology: Middle English ~e, from Latin ~mat-, ~ma, from Greek, from epigraphein to write on, inscribe, from epi- + graphein to write — more at carve  Date: 15th century  1. a concise poem dealing pointedly and often satirically with a single thought or event and often ending with an ingenious turn of thought  2. a terse, sage, or witty and often paradoxical saying  3. ~matic expression  • ~matism noun  • ~matist noun