Definitions for orthographyɔrˈθɒg rə fi

This page provides all possible meanings and translations of the word orthography

Princeton's WordNet

  1. orthography, writing system(noun)

    a method of representing the sounds of a language by written or printed symbols


  1. Orthography(n.)

    The method of spelling the words of a particular language; the system of symbols used for writing a language.

  2. Orthography(n.)

    The branch of linguistics concerned with how languages are written.

  3. Origin: [OE. ortographie, OF. orthographie, L. orthographia, Gr. , fr. writing correctly; 'orqo`s right + gra`fein to write. See Ortho-, and Graphic.]


  1. orthography(Noun)

    The study of correct spelling according to established usage.

  2. orthography(Noun)

    The aspect of language study concerned with letters and their sequences in words.

  3. orthography(Noun)

    Spelling; the method of representing a language or the sounds of language by written symbols.

  4. orthography(Noun)

    Orthographic projection; especially its use to draw an elevation, vertical projection etc. of a building.

  5. Origin: From ortografie, ortografie, ortographie, and their source, orthographia, from Hellenistic ὀρθογραφία, from and .


  1. Orthography

    An orthography is a standardized system for using a particular writing system to write a particular language. It includes rules of spelling. Other elements of written language that are part of orthography include hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation. Most significant languages in the modern era are written down, and for most such languages a standard orthography has developed, often based on a standard variety of the language, and thus exhibiting less dialect variation than the spoken language. Sometimes there may be variation in a language's orthography, as between American and British spelling in the case of English. If a language uses multiple writing systems, it may have distinct orthographies, as is the case with Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian, Inuktitut and Turkish. In some cases orthography is regulated by bodies such as language academies, although for many languages there are no such authorities, and orthography develops through less formal processes. Orthography is distinct from typography, which is concerned with principles of typesetting.

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