-graphy

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.^[1]

Arts 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 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

Cerography – a printmaking technique using a layer of wax over a metal substrate
Collagraphy – In printmaking, a fine art technique in which collage materials are used as ink-carrying imagery on a printing plate.
Flexography – a printing process using a flexible relief plate
Geomontography – a printing method, used primarily for the production of maps
Hectography – a duplicating process using gelatin plates
Lithography – a planographic printing technique
- Chromolithography – a method for making multi-colour prints in lithography
- Photolithography – the method for microfabrication in electronics manufacturing.
Mimeography – a duplicating process using stencils
Serigraphy – a printmaking technique that uses a stencil made of fine synthetic material through which ink is forced
Vitreography – in printmaking, a fine art technique that uses glass printing matrices
Xerography – the means of copying documents
Zincography – a planographic printing process that used zinc plates

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.

Archival and compilatory lists

Bibliography – a list of writings, typically those used or considered by an author in preparing a particular work or research.
- Metabibliography – bibliography of bibliographies.
Discography – a list of recorded music, or other sound recordings/auditory media.
Filmography – a list of films, documentaries, or other visual media.
Ludography (or gameography) – a list of games, specifically video games.
Webography (or webliography or arachniography) – a list of websites, or URLs

Fields of study

Ampelography – the field of botany concerned with the identification and classification of grapevines
Cartography – the study and making of maps.
Chromatography – a chemical laboratory technique for the separation of a mixture
- Electrochromatography
Cryptography – the study of securing information
Crystallography – the study of crystals
Dactylography – the study of fingerprints for identification
Demography – the study of the characteristics of human populations, such as size, growth, density, distribution, and vital statistics
Epigraphy – the study of written inscriptions on hard surfaces.
Ethnography – the study of cultures and cultural phenomena.
Geography – study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of the Earth.
- Anthropogeography – study of human society's interactions and relationships with the environment.
- Biogeography – study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time
- Oceanography – exploration and scientific study of the ocean and its phenomena.
- Orography – the study of mountains.
- Physiography – study of the processes and patterns in the Earth's environment.
- Stratigraphy — a branch of geology concerned with the study of rock layers (strata) and layering (stratification)
  - Lithostratigraphy — a sub-discipline of stratigraphy
  - Stratigraphy (archaeology) — study of archaeological sedimentation for dating purposes
Historiography – study of the methods of historians
Holography – study and mapping of computer project imaged called Holograms for interactive and assisted computations.
Hydrography – measurement and description of any waters.
Keraunography – the belief that lightning, when striking an object, can leave markings which constitute a photographic image of surrounding objects
Monography – the study of a single specialized subject of the aspect of a subject.
Pathography – study of the history of an individual or community with regard to the influence of a physical or mental condition.
Polarography – a type of voltammetry
Reprography – reproduction of graphics through mechanical or electrical means.
Topography – the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those of planets, moons and asteroids.
Zoography – the study of animal description and their habits; descriptive zoology.

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

Radiography – an imaging technique that uses X-rays, other ionizing radiation, or non-ionizing radiation to visualize the internal structure of an object
- Autoradiography – a photographic record of radiation from a radioactive source made by placing it close to a photographic emulsion^[2]^: 101
Thermography – a technique that records infrared radiation emitted from an object's surface to generate a temperature distribution image
Tomography – three-dimensional imaging

Medical tests

Angiography – a medical imaging technique used to visualize the inside, or lumen, of blood vessels and organs of the body, particularly the arteries and the heart chambers
Cholangiography – imaging of bile ducts
Electroencephalography – recording of voltages from the brain
Electromyography – a technique for evaluating and recording the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles^[2]^: 103
Mammography – an x-ray method used to examine the breast for detection of early-stage cancer and other diseases.
Urography – an examination with an x-ray to evaluate the kidneys, ureters and bladder.
Venography – a test that uses an x-ray moving pictures of blood in the veins of the legs and pelvis.
Ultrasonography – a test that uses energy sound waves to observe tissues and organs.

References

^ Prćić, Tvrtko (2019). "Exploring the Properties of English Lexical Affixes by Exploiting the Resources of English General-Purpose Dictionaries". Lexikos. 29: 1–29. doi:10.5788/29-1-1516. ISSN 2224-0039.
^ ^a ^b Herrero-Zorita, Carlos; Molina, Clara; Moreno-Sandoval, Antonio (2015). "Medical term formation in English and Japanese: A study of the suffixes -gram, -graph and -graphy". Review of Cognitive Linguistics. 13 (1): 81–105. doi:10.1075/rcl.13.1.04her.