n. pl. atÂ·roÂ·phies. 1  1. A wasting or decrease in size of a body organ, tissue, or part owing to disease, injury, or lack of use: muscular atrophy of a person affected with paralysis. 2  2. A wasting away, deterioration, or diminution: intellectual atrophy.
August 2004: The Statue of Liberty reopens for the first time since Sept. 11, 2001. The Statue of Liberty reopens with monitors that show emergency exits. At the bottom of every monitor is a scrolling message: âIf you see something, say something.â.
1630s, public notice, from Late Latin programma proclamation, edict, from Greek programma a written public notice, from stem of prographein to write publicly, from pro- forth (see pro-) + graphein to write (see -graphy). General sense of a definite plan or scheme is recorded from 1837. Meaning list of pieces at a concert, playbill first recorded 1805 and retains the original sense. That of objects or events suggested by music is from 1854. Sense of broadcasting presentation is from 1923.