descriptive linguistics

noun

, (used with a singular verb)

1. the study of the grammar, classification, and arrangement of the features of a language at a given time, without reference to the history of the language or comparison with other languages.

descriptive linguistics

noun

1. See historical linguistics
   functioning as singular the study of the description of the internal phonological, grammatical, and semantic structures of languages at given points in time without reference to their histories or to one another Also calledsynchronic linguistics Compare historical linguistics

Word History and Origins

Origin of descriptive linguistics¹

First recorded in 1925–30