orthography
noun
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The concept of orthography (a term that comes from the Greek words orthos, meaning “right or true,” and graphein, meaning “to write”) was not something that really concerned English speakers until the introduction of the printing press in England in the second half of the 15th century. From that point on, English spelling became progressively more uniform. Our orthography has been relatively stable since the 1755 publication of Samuel Johnson's A Dictionary of the English Language, with the notable exception of certain spelling reforms, such as the change of musick to music. Incidentally, many of these reforms were championed by Merriam-Webster’s own Noah Webster.
Examples of orthography in a Sentence
Longreads, 1 July 2025
In our woeful orthography, choir, and liar rhyme, daughter and laughter don’t, and knickknack has four—count them, four—entirely useless K’s.
—Gabe Henry, Time, 15 Apr. 2025
The thing about spelling is that orthography seems to have become de-emphasized over the years.
—Robert Klose, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Sep. 2023
The class is held on Wednesdays via Zoom and will be covering Moses-Columbian language history, phonetics/orthography, vocabulary, and grammar.
—oregonlive, 8 Oct. 2021
In 1870, reading English was required for Harvard, while Princeton required English grammar and orthography.
—Melissa Gira Grant, The New Republic, 9 Aug. 2021
Many of the library’s manuscripts, some dating to the ninth century and written in Devanagari script (an ancient orthography system still used across the Indian subcontinent) on birch bark and palm leaves rolled up and held by clay seals, had been moved downstairs.
—Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 May 2021
Cite this Entry
“Orthography.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/orthography. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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orthography
noun
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