orthography
Meanings
Plural: orthographies
Noun
- a method of representing the sounds of a language by written or printed symbols
- A method of representing a language or the sounds of language by written symbols; spelling.
- A set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, capitalization, emphasis, hyphenation, punctuation, and word breaks.
- The aspect of language study concerned with letters and their sequences in words; the study of spelling.
- Correct spelling according to established usage; also (obsolete) pronunciation according to the spelling of a word.
- 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.
- Synonym of orthographer (“someone knowledgeable in spelling rules”).
Verb
- To spell (words) or write (text) according to established usage.
Origin / 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.
Cognates
* Catalan ortografia
* Italian ortografia
* Portuguese ortografia, orthografia (obsolete)
* Spanish ortografía
Synonyms
orthographer, writing system
Antonyms
cacography, oblique projection
Scrabble Score: 23
orthography is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordorthography is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
orthography is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary