prosopography

[ pros-uh-pog-ruh-fee ]

noun

, plural pros·o·pog·ra·phies.

1. a study of a collection of persons or characters, especially their appearances, careers, personalities, etc., within a historical, literary, or social context.
2. a description of a person's appearance, career, personality, etc.

prosopography

/ ˌprɒsəpəˈɡræfɪkəl; ˌprɒsəˈpɒɡrəfɪ /

noun

1. a description of a person's life and career
2. the study of such descriptions as part of history, esp Roman history

Derived Forms

• prosopographical, adjective
• ˌprosopoˈgraphically, adverb
• ˌprosoˈpographer, noun

Other Words From

• proso·pogra·pher noun
• pros·o·po·graph·i·cal [pros-oh-p, uh, -, graf, -i-k, uh, l], adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of prosopography¹

C16: from New Latin prosopographia, from Greek prosōpon face, person + -graphy