Philology /(fĭ*lŏl"ō̇*jy̆)/

Phi·lol·o·gy

Philology

n.
  1. Criticism; grammatical learning. [R.]
  2. The study of language, especially in a philosophical manner and as a science; the investigation of the laws of human speech, the relation of different tongues to one another, and historical development of languages; linguistic science.
  3. A treatise on the science of language.