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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

orthography.

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

11 characters4 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ɔːˈθɒɡɹəfi/Received-Pronunciation/ɔɹˈθɑɡɹəfi/General-American
  1. A method of representing a language or the sounds of language by written symbols; spelling.

    countable
  2. A set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, capitalization, emphasis, hyphenation, punctuation, and word breaks.

    countable
  3. The aspect of language study concerned with letters and their sequences in words; the study of spelling.

    uncountable
  4. Correct spelling according to established usage; also (obsolete) pronunciation according to the spelling of a word.

    uncountable
  5. 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.

    countable
  6. Synonym of orthographer (“someone knowledgeable in spelling rules”).

    countable · obsolete
Where this word comes from

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

verb/ɔːˈθɒɡɹəfi/Received-Pronunciation/ɔɹˈθɑɡɹəfi/General-American
  1. To spell (words) or write (text) according to established usage.

    archaic · rare · transitive
Where this word comes from

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

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.