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methodology

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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌmɛθ.əˈdɒl.ə.d͡ʒi/[1]
  • US: /ˌmɛθ.əˈdɑ.lə.d͡ʒi/, /ˌmɛθ.ɪˈdɑ.lɪ.d͡ʒi/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English method + -ology,[2][3] probably after New Latin methodologia, used in 1727 by J. F. Buddeus.[2][4][5] The Oxford Dictionary of English and the Shorter Oxford derive it from that word or from French méthodologie,[6][7] which the OED records only from 1829.[2] The Latin compound is made of methodus (“method”), from Ancient Greek μέθοδος (méthodos), and -logia, from -λογία (-logía).[5][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The branch of knowledge that deals with method in general or with the methods of a particular discipline: 1800, in the Medical and Physical Journal.[2][5] Etymonline gives the same year and defines the early sense as the branch of logic that shows how abstract principles are applied to produce knowledge.[8]

Semantic evolution

From the theory of method the word passed to the methods themselves: by the middle of the 19th century it could mean a body of methods used in a field of study or activity.[7] The Historical Thesaurus records it in biological classification from 1835 and in the general sense of a manner of acting from 1932.[9] Etymonline observes that it is often used simply as a longer word for method.[8] It also once meant a treatise on method, a use the OED marks as archaic.[2]

Timeline

  • 1727 – New Latin methodologia (Buddeus).[2]
  • 1800 – the branch of knowledge dealing with method.[2][8][5]
  • 1829 – French méthodologie.[2]
  • 1835 – in biology, a system of classification.[9]
  • mid 19th century – a body of methods used in a field.[7]
  • 1932 – a way of doing something.[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. A system of methods, rules and procedures used in a particular discipline or inquiry.
  2. The study or theoretical analysis of such methods.
  3. (philosophy) The branch of logic or philosophy concerned with the general principles of method and procedure.

Word family

  • methodological
  • methodologically
  • methodologist
  • ethnomethodology
  • method
  • methodical
  • -ology
  • epistemology

Usage notes

The AHD's usage note accepts methodology for the analysis of the methods suited to a field and for the body of methods and principles of a discipline, but objects to its growing use as a pretentious substitute for method.[10][8] Wiktionary likewise notes that using it simply for "methods" or "technique" is criticized as inaccurate and pretentious.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  4. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
  5. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  8. ^ a b c d Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  9. ^ a b c Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
  10. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin