# linguistics

Pronunciation: say "ling-GWIS-tiks" /liŋˈɡwɪstɪks/

## Noun

1. The scientific study of language, including its sounds, structure, meaning, and use.
   - Simple: The careful and detailed study of language.
   - _Phonetics is the branch of linguistics that deals with the sounds of speech._
   - _She switched her major from French to linguistics after one introductory course._

## Origin

From linguist + -ics, related to linguistic and Latin linguisticus; coined by the English philosopher and historian of science William Whewell in 1847 from German Linguistik.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/linguistics (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).