Glossologic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Of or pertaining to the scientific study of language and its structure
2. Concerning the branch of knowledge that examines how language works and evolves
3. Related to the analysis and investigation of linguistic systems and communication

Etymology: The Greek "glōssa" first meant the tongue, the organ, and then extended to speech and language. Its Greek offshoot "glōssa" also came to mean a rare or obscure word that needed explaining, which is why a gloss in English is a brief explanatory note set beside a difficult term. The adjective is built from that root plus "logos", meaning word, reason, or study, the same element found in "biology" and "theology". This term is a learned formation in English, built from those classical parts rather than inherited from ancient usage. Its sense is "relating to glossology," the study of languages, their words, and their meanings, so it describes work that treats language as the object of inquiry rather than as a tool for communication.