English dictionary · noun

orthography

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

Meaning and definitions

1. A method of representing a language or the sounds of language by written symbols; spelling.
2. A set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, capitalization, emphasis, hyphenation, punctuation, and word breaks.
3. The aspect of language study concerned with letters and their sequences in words; the study of spelling.

Connected roots

• graph-

  writing, drawing

Explore the word family

These words share a recorded root connection. A shared root is a learning clue; it does not establish every step in a word’s history.

• photography

  The art and technology of producing images on photosensitive surfaces, and its digital counterpart.

• photograph

  a picture made using a camera

• telegraph

  a system for transmitting messages over distance by signals along a wire

• geography

  the study of the physical features of the earth

• biography

  an account of a person's life written by someone else

• bibliography

  a list of the books referred to in a scholarly work

• telegram

  A message transmitted by telegraph.

• choreography

  The art of creating, arranging and recording the dance movements of a work, such as a ballet.

• autograph

  a signature, especially that of a celebrity

• hologram

  A three-dimensional image of an object created by holography.

• holographic

  In the form of a hologram or holograph.

• monogram

  A sentence consisting of only one line, or an epigram consisting of only one verse, of poetry.

• typography

  The art or practice of setting and arranging type; typesetting.

• chromatography

  Any of various techniques for the qualitative or quantitative separation of the components of mixtures of compounds; all characterized by the use of a mobile phase (gas or liquid) moving relative to a stationary phase (liquid or solid) – the differences between the rates of migration of the compounds between the two phases affect the separation.

• cryptography

  The discipline that embodies the principles, means, and methods for transforming data to hide its semantic content, prevent unauthorized use, or detect modifications, while also ensuring information security through confidentiality, integrity, authentication, and nonrepudiation.

• demography

  The study of the characteristics of human populations, especially with regards to their makeup and fluctuations and the social causes behind these.

• polygraph

  A device which measures and records several physiological variables such as blood pressure, heart rate, respiration and skin conductivity while a series of questions is being posed to a subject, in an attempt to detect deception.

• phonograph

  A device that captures sound waves onto an engraved archive; a lathe.

• lithography

  The process of printing an image by drawing the image with a water-repellent material onto a hard, flat surface (typically metal), then copying the surface by applying water and ink (or the equivalent) to it and pressing another material against it.

• anagram

  A word or phrase that is created by rearranging the letters of another word or phrase.

• chronograph

  A chronogram.

• stratigraphy

  The study of rock layers and the layering process (stratification).

• pentagram

  The shape of a five-pointed star constructed of five intersecting lines meeting at the vertices, such that a central pentagon and five surrounding isosceles triangles are formed; often with magical connotations; a 5/2 (or 5/3) star polygon.

• lithograph

  A printed image produced by lithography.

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