Orthography

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ɔːˈθɒɡɹəfi/

Definitions

1. A system of rules and conventions for writing a language, including spelling, punctuation, and capitalization
2. The conventional system governing how words are spelled, punctuated, and formatted in written communication
3. A standardized set of rules determining correct spelling, punctuation, and letter usage within a particular language or writing system

Etymology: Ancient Greek "orthographia" was built from two parts that each carried a physical sense: "orthos" meant straight or upright, and "graphia" came from a verb meaning to scratch, cut into, or write. So the original idea was closer to "correct drawing" than "correct spelling." The Romans borrowed the term as "orthographia," and it was used for correct writing as well as for a building's elevation, a flat drawing of its upright face. That second sense shows how the two meanings grew from the same root idea of the right, upright representation of something. The word reached English in the late Middle Ages, in forms like "ortografie," arriving through Anglo-Norman and Middle French. It was already in use before about 1460, and at that point it meant spelling, the proper form of letters in writing. The English word is simply ortho- ("right, proper") joined to -graphy ("something written or represented in a specified way"). Its verb, to orthograph, was derived later from the noun.

Synonyms: spelling, writing, script, grammar, notation