orthography

American  

[awr-thog-ruh-fee] / ɔrˈθɒg rə fi /

noun

orthographies plural

1. the art of writing words with the proper letters, according to accepted usage; correct spelling.

2. the part of language study concerned with letters and spelling.

3. a method of spelling, as by the use of an alphabet or other system of symbols; spelling.

4. a system of such symbols.

   Missionaries provided the first orthography for the language.

5. an orthographic projection, or an elevation drawn by means of it.

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orthography British  

/ ɔːˈθɒɡrəfɪ /

noun

1. a writing system

2. 1. spelling considered to be correct

   2. the principles underlying spelling

3. the study of spelling

4. orthographic projection

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Other Word Forms

• orthographer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of orthography

1425–75; late Middle English ortografye < Latin orthographia correct writing, orthogonal projection < Greek orthographía. See ortho-, -graphy

Explanation

If you speak English — and you probably do if you're reading this — an orthography or writing system of "A, B, C, D..." makes sense. The Serbian language uses a different orthography: "A B C Č Ć D Dž Đ..." From Greek orthographia, meaning "correct writing," an orthography is a way to represent words by having set ways to spell and write them. Orthography helps you identify words so you can figure out their meanings. Different languages usually have different systems of orthography, and even subsets of language, like text-messaging lingo, have a sort of orthography.

Example Sentences

We don’t have an official Bemba dictionary — and the orthography of Zambian languages is also pretty inconsistent.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2019

These élite athletes of orthography routinely spell Greek-derived words, many of which I didn’t even know existed, much less what they meant or how to spell them.

From The New Yorker • Jan. 7, 2019

Tomlinson, who died on March 5th, made a lasting contribution to the world’s orthography by choosing the @ symbol for e-mail addresses.

From Economist • Mar. 10, 2016

You’ve got more important things to see, I know you ain’t thinkin’ ’bout orthography.

From Washington Post • Jan. 14, 2016

The thought of Tansy having a look at my orthography brought me near tears.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck