philology

noun phi·lol·o·gy \ fə-ˈlä-lə-jē also fī- \

|Updated on: 7 Jun 2018

Definition of philology

1 : the study of literature and of disciplines relevant to literature or to language as used in literature

2 a : linguistics; especially : historical and comparative linguistics

b : the study of human speech especially as the vehicle of literature and as a field of study that sheds light on cultural history

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philological

play \ˌfi-lə-ˈlä-ji-kəl\ adjective

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philologically

play \ˌfi-lə-ˈlä-ji-k(ə-)lē\ adverb

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philologist

play \fə-ˈlä-lə-jist also fī-\ noun

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Recent Examples of philology from the Web

Ramm channelled the chaos into a spectacular personal mythology, drawn from philology, astrophysics, and medieval history.

— hua hsu, The New Yorker, "The Spectacular Personal Mythology of Rammellzee," 21 May 2018
But 19-year-old philology major Maria (who only gave me her first name) was still worried about the Telegram blockage.

— trudy rubin, Philly.com, "Generation Putin: Young Russians, who have never known life without him, imagine their future | Trudy Rubin," 3 May 2018
Since the Reformations of the sixteenth century, religious conflicts had been settled not only by the sword, but with the potent weapon of philology, the linguistic science that produced accurate versions and translations of holy and ancient texts.

— jacob soll, The New Republic, "How Islam Shaped the Enlightenment," 12 Apr. 2018
This is not philology, this is creative wishful thinking.

— Smithsonian, "How (and Where) Did Hannibal Cross the Alps?," 29 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'philology.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of philology

French philologie, from Latin philologia love of learning and literature, from Greek, from philologos fond of learning and literature, from phil- + logos word, speech — more at legend

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1522

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year