philology
pronunciation
How to pronounce philology in British English:
UK [fɪˈlɒlədʒi]
How to pronounce philology in American English:
US [fɪˈlɑlədʒi]
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- Noun:
- the humanistic study of language and literature
Word Origin
- philology (n.)
- late 14c., "love of learning," from Latin philologia "love of learning, love of letters, love of study, literary culture," from Greek philologia "love of discussion, learning, and literature; studiousness," from philo- "loving" (see philo-) + logos "word, speech" (see logos). Meaning "science of language" is first attested 1716 (philologue "linguist" is from 1590s; philologer "linguistic scholar" is from 1650s); this confusing secondary sense has not been popular in the U.S., where linguistics is preferred. Related: Philological.
Example
- 1. He was a blameless professor at the university of birmingham , and his essay was written for an obscure journal of philology in helsinki .
- 2. Working in the area were two graduate students specializing in northwest semitic philology , samuel boyd and benjamin thomas , who had just taken a course in exactly the kind of inscription and dialect on the stele .
- 3. Her father was a schoolteacher , and she went on to pursue graduate studies at the sorbonne , where she specialized in french literature and philology .
- 4. Professor martin maiden of oxford 's faculty of linguistics philology & phonetics and the faculty of medieval and modern languages led the four year study which was funded by the arts and humanities research council .