orthography
UK /ɔːˈθɒɡɹəfi/ · US /ɔɹˈθɑɡɹəfi/ noun, verb
Forms orthographies orthographying orthographied
- noun (countable) A method of representing a language or the sounds of language by written symbols; spelling.
- noun (countable, more broadly) A set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, capitalization, emphasis, hyphenation, punctuation, and word breaks.
- noun (uncountable) The aspect of language study concerned with letters and their sequences in words; the study of spelling.
- noun (uncountable) Correct spelling according to established usage; also (obsolete) pronunciation according to the spelling of a word.
- noun (countable, architecture) A form of projection used to represent three-dimensional objects in two dimensions, in which all the projection lines are orthogonal or perpendicular to the projection plane; an orthographic projection, especially when used to draw an elevation, vertical projection, etc., of a building; also (obsolete) a drawing made in this way.
- noun (countable, obsolete) Synonym of orthographer (“someone knowledgeable in spelling rules”).
- verb (transitive, rare, archaic) To spell (words) or write (text) according to established usage.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
The noun is derived from Late Middle English ortografie, ortographie (“spelling”) [and other forms], and then either:
* from Anglo-Norman ortografie, Middle French orthographie, ortografie, ortographie (“correct spelling; orthographic projection”) (compare Old French ortografie; modern French orthographe (“spelling, orthography”), orthographie (“orthographic project, orthography”)); or
* from their etymon Latin orthographia (“correct spelling; building elevation”), from Koine Greek ὀρθογραφία (orthographía, “correct spelling”), from Ancient Greek ορθο- (ortho-, prefix meaning ‘right, proper; upright’) (from ὀρθός (orthós, “straight; erect, upright; correct, true”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃erdʰ- (“to grow, increase; high; upright”)) + -γραφίᾱ (-graphíā, suffix meaning ‘drawing; writing’) (from γρᾰ́φω (grắphō, “to cut into, scratch; to write”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- (“to carve”)).
The English word is analyzable as ortho- (prefix meaning ‘proper, right; straight’) + -graphy (suffix denoting something written or otherwise represented in a specified manner, or about a specified subject). The verb is derived from the noun. First use appears before c. 1460.
* Portuguese ortografia, orthografia (obsolete)
Webster’s 1913
- noun The art or practice of writing words with the proper letters, according to standard usage; conventionally correct spelling; also, mode of spelling; as, his orthography is vicious.
- noun The part of grammar which treats of the letters, and of the art of spelling words correctly.
Etymology [OE. ortographie, OF. orthographie, L. orthographia, Gr. Ortho-, and Graphic.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “orthography”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details