1. linguistics study of language in texts: the scientific study of the relationship of languages to one another, and their history, especially based on the analysis of texts
2. cultural anthropology study of ancient texts: the study and analysis of ancient texts, especially as an approach to the cultural history of a period or people
3. literature study of literature: the study of literature in general
(
archaic
)
[14th century. Via Latin< Greek philologia< philologos "fond of words" < philos "loving" + logos "word"]
