philology definition | Dictionary.com

phi⋅lol⋅o⋅gy

[fi-lol-uh-jee]

–noun

1.	the study of literary texts and of written records, the establishment of their authenticity and their original form, and the determination of their meaning.

2.	(esp. in older use) linguistics, esp. historical and comparative linguistics.

3.	Obsolete. the love of learning and literature.

Origin:
1350–1400; ME philologie < L philologia < Gk philología love of learning and literature, equiv. to philólog(os) literary, studious, argumentative + -ia -y ³ . See philo-, -logy

Related forms:

phil⋅o⋅log⋅i⋅cal [fil-uh-loj-i-kuh

, phil⋅o⋅log⋅ic, adjective

phil⋅o⋅log⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb

phi⋅lol⋅o⋅gist, phi⋅lol⋅o⋅ger, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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historical linguistics
n. (used with a sing. verb)
The study of linguistic change over time in language or in a particular language or language family, sometimes including the reconstruction of unattested forms of earlier stages of a language. Also called philology.

phi·lol·o·gy (fĭ-lŏl'ə-jē)

Literary study or classical scholarship.
See historical linguistics.

[Middle English philologie, from Latin philologia, love of learning, from Greek philologiā, from philologos, fond of learning or of words : philo-, philo- + logos, reason, speech; see -logy.]
phi·lol'o·ger, phi·lol'o·gist n., phil'o·log'ic (fĭl'ə-lŏj'ĭk), phil'o·log'i·cal (-ĭ-kəl) adj., phil'o·log'i·cal·ly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Philology

Phi*lol"o*gy\, n. [L. philologia love of learning, interpretation, philology, Gr. ?: cf. F. philologie. See Philologer.]

1. Criticism; grammatical learning. [R.] --Johnson.

2. The study of language, especially in a philosophical manner and as a science; the investigation of the laws of human speech, the relation of different tongues to one another, and historical development of languages; linguistic science.

Note: Philology comprehends a knowledge of the etymology, or origin and combination of words; grammar, the construction of sentences, or use of words in language; criticism, the interpretation of authors, the affinities of different languages, and whatever relates to the history or present state of languages. It sometimes includes rhetoric, poetry, history, and antiquities.

3. A treatise on the science of language.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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philology

c.1386, "love of learning," from O.Fr. philologie, from L. philologia "love of learning, love of letters," from Gk. philologia "love of discussion, learning, and literature," from philo- "loving" + logos "word, speech." Meaning "science of language" is first attested 1716; this confusing secondary sense has never been popular in the U.S., where linguistics (q.v.) is preferred.

philology

a term now rarely used but once applied to the study of language and literature. Nowadays a distinction is usually made between literary and linguistic scholarship, and the term philology, where used, means the study of language-i.e., linguistics (q.v.). It survives in the titles of a few learned journals that date to the 19th century. Comparative philology was a former name for what is now called comparative linguistics (q.v.).

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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