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-graphy

English language suffix

The English suffix -graphy denotes either a field of study or a manner of writing or representation. It derives from the French -graphie, which in turn comes from the Latin -graphia, itself a transliteration of the Greek -γραφία (-graphia).

Because -graphy begins with a consonant, it is usually joined to a combining form that provides the linking vowel -o- (e.g. photo- + -graphy). This follows the pattern of neo-classical word formation, in which new English words are built from Greek and Latin elements in imitation of Greek compound and derivative structures.

01Arts and communication

  • Biography, an account of a person's life
    • Autobiography, biography of a person written by themselves
      • Autobiogeography, a self-referential map or other geographic document created by the subject
    • Hagiography, biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader
    • Metabiography, the study of how biographies are shaped by the temporal, geographical, institutional, intellectual, and ideological contexts of their authors
    • Photobiography, biography told primarily through photographs, often accompanied by brief textual commentary
    • Psychobiography, biographical study that interprets a subject's life and behavior through psychological theory or analysis
  • Choreography, the art of creating and arranging dances or ballets.
  • Cinematography, the art of making lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for the cinema
  • Floriography, the language of flowers
  • Iconography, the art of interpreting the content by icons.
  • Klecksography, the art of making images from inkblots.
  • Lexicography, the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries.
  • Photography, the art, practice or occupation of taking and printing photographs.
    • Astrophotography, the photography or imaging of astronomical objects
    • Chronophotography, the photographic technique which captures a number of phases of movements
    • Heliography, an early photographic process, based on the hardening of bitumen in sunlight
    • Rephotography, the act of photographing the same site twice, with a time lag between the two images
    • Telephotography, the sending of photographs by telegraph, telephone or radio
  • Pornography, the practice, occupation and result of producing sexually arousing imagery or words.
  • Pyrography, the art of decorating wood or other materials with burn marks
  • Reprography, the reproduction of graphics through mechanical or electrical means
  • Scenography, the art of theatrical design and stage scenery
  • Tasseography, a divination or fortune-telling method that interprets patterns in tea leaves
  • Telegraphy, the long-distance transmission of messages
  • Typography, the art and techniques of type design.
  • Videography, the art and techniques of filming video.
  • Vitrography, a method of using laser beams to create three-dimensional images or designs inside solid glass

Printing

Writing

  • Cacography, bad handwriting or spelling
  • Calligraphy, the art of fine handwriting
  • Chorography, the art of describing or mapping a region or district
  • Dittography, accidental repetition of letters or words when copying text
  • Garshunography, the use of the script of one language to write utterances of another language which already has a script associated with it; also known as allography or heterography
  • Haplography, accidental omission of repeated letters when writing
  • Ideography, the use of symbols to represent a concept or idea.
  • Orthography, the rules of correct writing.
  • Palaeography, the study of historical handwriting
  • Phonography, representation of sounds by written symbols; also known as Pitman shorthand
  • Pictography, the use of pictographs
  • Pseudepigraphy, falsely attributed writings
  • Psychography, a claimed psychic ability allowing a person to produce written words without consciously writing
  • Steganography, the art of writing hidden messages
  • Stenography, the art of writing in shorthand.

02Archival and compilatory lists

03Fields of study

Astronomy

  • Areography, the study and mapping of the physical features of the planet Mars
  • Cosmography, the study and making of maps of the universe or cosmos
  • Selenography, the study and mapping of the physical features of the Moon
  • Uranography, the study and mapping of stars and space objects

Imaging techniques

Medical tests

Watch videos about -graphyExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article -graphy, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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