Main Entry: to·pog·ra·phy

Pronunciation: \tə-ˈpä-grə-fē\

Function: noun

Etymology: Middle English topographie, from Late Latin topographia, from Greek, from topographein to describe a place, from topos place + graphein to write — more at carve

Date: 15th century

1 a : the art or practice of graphic delineation in detail usually on maps or charts of natural and man-made features of a place or region especially in a way to show their relative positions and elevations b : topographical surveying
2 a : the configuration of a surface including its relief and the position of its natural and man-made features b : the physical or natural features of an object or entity and their structural relationships <the topography of human chromosomes> <the political topography of our time>