noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/fɪˈlɒl.ə.d͡ʒɪ/
General-American:/fɪˈlɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/
US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
Australian:/fɪˈlɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/
Australian:/fɪˈlɔl.ə.d͡ʒi/
1
noun
Meaning 1
The humanistic study of texts and their languages, especially ancient or classical languages.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, countable, especially, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Historical or comparative linguistics.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
Love and study of learning and literature, broadly speaking.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: countable, rare, uncountable
Topics: human-sciences, philosophy, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
the humanistic study of language and literature
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: linguistics
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: humanistic discipline, humanities, liberal arts, arts
Narrower terms: dialectology, lexicology
History
Etymology
Inherited from Middle English Philologie, from Latin philologia, from Ancient Greek φιλολογίᾱ (philologíā, “love of argument or reasoning, love of learning and literature”).
Across languages
Translations
75 source translations are retained for this English entry.