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glottochronology

American  
[glot-oh-kruh-nol-uh-jee, glot-uh-] / ˌglɒt oʊ krəˈnɒl ə dʒi, ˌglɒt ə- /

noun

Linguistics.

  1. the branch of lexicostatistics that studies the rate of replacement of vocabulary and attempts to determine what percentage of basic vocabulary two presently distinct but related languages share, using the information thus obtained to estimate how long ago they ceased being a single language.

glottochronology British  
/ ˌɡlɒtəʊkrəˈnɒlədʒɪ /

noun

  1. the use of lexicostatistics to establish that languages are historically related

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of glottochronology

First recorded in 1950–55; glotto- + chronology

Example Sentences

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The testimony extends to cemeteries: It matters who is buried with whom or close to whom; to the evolution of words: What Beneviste called glottochronology; to contracts.

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.