Dictionary

paleography en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /ˌpalɪˈɒɡɹəfi/ (UK)
• /ˌpeɪlɪˈɒɡɹəfi/ (UK)
• /ˌpeɪliˈɑɡɹəfi/ (General-American)

Etymology

From paleo- + -graphy; imitating Latin palaeographia for the first sense and French paléographie and paléogéographie for the second and third senses.

Meanings

1. (US, countable, uncountable) The study of old or ancient forms of writing.
   • Paleography might teach men to read documents, diplomatics to date them and to test their authenticity; but the full significance of an ancient deed might easily escape the most exact paleographer and the most accomplished diplomatist, for the want of that finished sense for legal technicality which is the natural fruit of a conveyancing practice. 1910, H. A. L. Fisher, Frederick William Maitland, Downing Professor of the Laws of England, Cambridge: University Press:
   • This book is the culmination of a six-year detective hunt among local records, archives, and private collections in England and in Massachusetts. I do not recommend a similar study to any student who has a faint heart, lack of patience, inability to travel, or poor eyesight. Such a study demands the development of various specialized skills. A knowledge of the mysteries of genealogy is essential, and these can be both complex and frustrating. One must also learn about paleography and know how to decipher the different court hands, the shorthand Latin used by clerks, and seventeenth-century handwriting in general. A note of warning: many of the church documents make the formal manorial court rolls look like works of art, as they are. Single pages, or paragraphs of entries, in Church Court Deposition Books or Churchwardens’ Accounts have cost me many hours of exasperation, to say nothing of long weeks at the typewriter. Another important ability which must be cultivated is the use of a portable photostat machine, such as the Contura, under every kind of difficulty, including the differences in types of electric current in foreign countries and the caution of archivists who fear any damage to their documents. In addition to the skill of handling a photostat machine, one should know about photographic processes in general and a certain amount about cartography, particularly for the period studied. Naturally, the technical legal language used by court clerks must be mastered. 1963, Sumner Chilton Powell, “Preface”, in Puritan Village: The Formation of a New England Town, Wesleyan University Press:
2. (US, countable, uncountable) Ancient scripts or forms of writing themselves, as uncial, scriptio continua, or methods of using papyrus scrolls.
3. (US, countable, obsolete, uncountable) Paleogeography.

Forms

Relateds

graphology · orthography

Translations (67)

ka პალეოგრაფია (study of old forms of writing) · es paleografía (study of old forms of writing) · fi vanhat kirjoitustyylit (ancient scripts or forms of writing) · tl dalubtalandaan (study of old forms of writing) · eo paleografio (study of old forms of writing) · el παλαιογραφία (study of old forms of writing) · io paleografio (study of old forms of writing) · gl paleografía (study of old forms of writing) · he פלאוגרפיה (study of old forms of writing) · yue 古文字學 /古文字学 (study of old forms of writing) · cy palaeograffeg (study of old forms of writing) · id paleografi (study of old forms of writing) · is handritafræði (study of old forms of writing) · cs paleografie (study of old forms of writing) · ca paleografia (study of old forms of writing) · fr paléographie (study of old forms of writing) · ast paleografía (study of old forms of writing) · cmn 古文字 (ancient scripts or forms of writing) · ro paleografie (study of old forms of writing) · it paleografia (study of old forms of writing) · az paleoqrafiya (study of old forms of writing) · et paleograafia (study of old forms of writing) · vi cổ văn tự học (study of old forms of writing) · cmn 古文字學 /古文字学 (study of old forms of writing) · sv paleografi (study of old forms of writing) · cv палеографи (study of old forms of writing) · sk paleografia (study of old forms of writing) · be палеаграфія (study of old forms of writing) · uk палеографія (study of old forms of writing) · vo vönapenav (study of old forms of writing) · sq paleografi (study of old forms of writing) · bg палеография (study of old forms of writing) · no paleografi (study of old forms of writing) · ar عِلْم الكِتَابَات القَدِيمَة (study of old forms of writing) · hi पुरालेखविद्या (study of old forms of writing) · yi פּאַלעאָגראַפֿיע (study of old forms of writing) · sh палеогра̀фија (study of old forms of writing) · sl paleografija (study of old forms of writing) · ba палеография (study of old forms of writing) · mr लिपिशास्त्र (study of old forms of writing) · ru палеогра́фия (study of old forms of writing) · pl paleografia (study of old forms of writing) · pt paleografia (study of old forms of writing) · sh paleogràfija (study of old forms of writing) · la palaeographia (study of old forms of writing) · lv paleogrāfija (study of old forms of writing) · de Paläographie (study of old forms of writing) · tr paleografi (study of old forms of writing) · ko 고문자학 (study of old forms of writing) · tk paleografiýa (study of old forms of writing) · es paleografía (ancient scripts or forms of writing) · hy հնագրություն (study of old forms of writing) · fi paleografia (study of old forms of writing) · nl paleografie (study of old forms of writing) · wuu 古文字学 (study of old forms of writing) · pt paleografia (ancient scripts or forms of writing) · kk палеография (study of old forms of writing) · de Paläografie (study of old forms of writing) · fa کتیبهشناسی (study of old forms of writing) · eu paleografia (study of old forms of writing) · mk палеографија (study of old forms of writing) · ky палеография (study of old forms of writing) · hu paleográfia (study of old forms of writing) · ja 古文書学 (study of old forms of writing) · lb Paleographie (study of old forms of writing) · uz paleografiya (study of old forms of writing) · da palæografi (study of old forms of writing)