philology
the study of literary texts and of written records, the establishment of their authenticity and their original form, and the determination of their meaning.
(especially in older use) linguistics, especially historical and comparative linguistics.
Obsolete. the love of learning and literature.
Origin of philology
1Other words from philology
- phil·o·log·i·cal [fil-uh-loj-i-kuhl], /ˌfɪl əˈlɒdʒ ɪ kəl/, phil·o·log·ic, adjective
- phil·o·log·i·cal·ly, adverb
- phi·lol·o·gist, phi·lol·o·ger, noun
- non·phil·o·log·ic, adjective
- non·phil·o·log·i·cal, adjective
- un·phil·o·log·ic, adjective
- un·phil·o·log·i·cal, adjective
Words Nearby philology
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use philology in a sentence
Jews and Arabs reach back, via philology as well as place of origin, to the same gene pool.
The History Behind Benjamin Netanyahu and Pope Francis’s Awkward Jesus Moment | Jay Parini | June 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTUnder this, the only scientific conception of philology, the study of Antiquities takes at once a higher place.
The Private Life of the Romans | Harold Whetstone JohnstonWhitney puts it thus: philology deals with human speech and with all that speech discloses as to the nature and history of man.
The Private Life of the Romans | Harold Whetstone JohnstonBut Classical philology is much more than the science of understanding and interpreting the classical languages.
The Private Life of the Romans | Harold Whetstone JohnstonCeltic ethnology and philology (see Celt) are still in the "age of discussion."
It is not probable that the study of philology will ever attract the same attention here that it does abroad.
British Dictionary definitions for philology
/ (fɪˈlɒlədʒɪ) /
comparative and historical linguistics
the scientific analysis of written records and literary texts
(no longer in scholarly use) the study of literature in general
Origin of philology
1Derived forms of philology
- philological (ˌfɪləˈlɒdʒɪkəl), adjective
- philologically, adverb
- philologist or rare philologer, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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