noun
linguistics
lihng-GWIHS-tihks
noun
1
The academic study of language — its structure, sounds, meaning, and history.
"She's majoring in linguistics at university."
"Linguistics helped explain why the two dialects sounded so different."
How to Use Linguistics
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe scientific study of how language works.
Common pairings
study linguistics
a degree in linguistics
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Etymology
Coined from linguist plus -ics, modeled on the German Linguistik, in the mid-1800s.