Indology

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The academic study of the languages, history, culture, and literature of the Indian subcontinent ; the systematic examination of India’s ancient texts, traditions, and societal structures ; a scholarly field concerned with understanding the various aspects of Indian civilization through interdisciplinary methods
2. A discipline focused on researching the linguistic, cultural, and historical elements of India ; an analytical approach to the art, religion, and philosophies originating in the Indian region ; an intellectual pursuit aiming to interpret and preserve Indian heritage and knowledge
3. The comprehensive investigation of India’s languages, religious practices, and historical development ; the exploration of Indian society through its classical and modern influences ; the field dedicated to studying the diverse corpus of Indian written and oral traditions

Etymology: Indology is a plain compound, built from "Indo-", the combining form meaning "Indian" or "India," and "-logy," meaning "the study of." It names the scholarly study of India: its languages, religions, literature, history and culture. The word follows the same pattern as older coinages such as "Egyptology" and "Assyriology," where a country's name is joined to "-logy" to name the field of research devoted to it. The "Indo-" element is the more interesting part. Its appearance in English is tied to the older European habit of calling the subcontinent "India," a name that comes from the Greek "Indos," the river Indus. Scholars then reused "Indo-" in many technical terms, such as "Indo-European," for the same reason: it points to India or the Indian region. The word itself is therefore a modern scholarly formation, not an ancient one.

Synonyms: study of India, Indian studies, South Asian studies, Indological research, India scholarship