paleography

American  

[pey-lee-og-ruh-fee, pal-ee-] / ˌpeɪ liˈɒg rə fi, ˌpæl i- /

noun

1. ancient forms of writing, as in documents and inscriptions.

2. the study of ancient writing, including determination of date, decipherment, etc.

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Other Word Forms

• paleographer noun
• paleographic adjective
• paleographical adjective
• paleographically adverb

Etymology

Origin of paleography

First recorded in 1810–20; paleo- + -graphy

Explanation

Are you fascinated with hieroglyphs, cuneiform, and other ancient forms of writing? You might want to take a class in paleography, the study of historical manuscripts and writing systems. Experts in paleography have learned to decipher archaic systems of writing, going all the way back to clay tablets marked with Sumerian cuneiform and Aramaic letters written on papyrus. The languages studied through paleography are ancient, and it takes time to puzzle them out and put them in a historical context so that their content can be understood. The Greek roots of paleography are palaiós, "old," and graphein, "to write."

Example Sentences

He edited a railway magazine and worked for the International Wool Secretariat, an industry group, while resuming his education through correspondence courses for a bachelor’s degree and master’s in bibliography and paleography.

From New York Times • Sep. 15, 2022

He demonstrated his ability to accurately transcribe a barely-legible original manuscript of Orwell’s dystopian novel “1984” by disporting his skills in paleography, the study of ancient and antiquated writing systems.

From New York Times • Sep. 15, 2022

This is a fascinating field, but the limits of paleography are also frustrating.

From Forbes • Feb. 28, 2012

King’s College London said it would abolish its chair in paleography, the study of ancient handwriting — the only such post in Britain.

From New York Times • Oct. 16, 2010

Examples of ancient paleography were, however, discovered a short distance higher up the river on malpais rock, which is harder and less rapidly eroded.

From Archeological Expedition to Arizona in 1895 Seventeenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1895-1896, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1898, pages 519-744 by Fewkes, Jesse Walter