Definition of linguistics
: the study of human speech including the units, nature, structure, and modification of language
From the M-W Editors
Did You Know?
Any analysis of language, including 8th-grade grammar, can be called linguistics. As recently as 200 years ago, ordinary grammar was about the only kind of linguistics there was. Today a linguist may be a person who learns foreign languages, but the term usually refers to people who devote themselves to analyzing the structure of language. Many linguists concentrate on the history of a language; others study the way children learn to speak; others analyze the sounds of a language—and still others just study English grammar, a subject so big that you could easily spend your entire life on it.
First Known Use of linguistics
circa 1837
Other Language Terms
LINGUISTICS Defined for English Language Learners
linguistics
playDefinition of linguistics for English Language Learners
-
: the study of language and of the way languages work
LINGUISTICS Defined for Kids
linguistics
playDefinition of linguistics for Students
: the study of human speech including the nature, structure, and development of language or of a language or group of languages
Learn More about linguistics
-
See words that rhyme with linguistics Spanish Central: Translation of linguistics Nglish: Translation of linguistics for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of linguistics for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about linguistics
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up linguistics? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Writing? Check your grammar now!