Word: geography Part of Speech: noun Etymology: Etymology tree Pre-Greek der. Proto-Hellenic *gayader. Ancient Greek γαῖᾰ (gaîă)clip. Ancient Greek γῆ (gê) Ancient Greek -ο- (-o-) Ancient Greek γεω- (geō-) Proto-Indo-European *gerbʰ- Proto-Hellenic *grə́pʰō Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō) Ancient Greek -γρᾰ́φος (-grắphos) Ancient Greek γεωγρᾰ́φος (geōgrắphos) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂ Proto-Hellenic *-íā Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā) ▲ Ancient Greek γεω- (geō-) ▲ Ancient Greek γρᾰ́φω (grắphō) Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Ancient Greek -ᾱ (-ā) Ancient Greek -η (-ē) Ancient Greek γραφή (graphḗ) Ancient Greek -γρᾰφῐ́ᾱ (-grăphĭ́ā) Ancient Greek γεωγρᾰφῐ́ᾱ (geōgrăphĭ́ā)bor. Latin geōgraphia Middle French géographie English geography From Middle French géographie, from Latin geōgraphia, from Ancient Greek γεωγραφία (geōgraphía, “a description of the earth”), from γῆ (gê, “earth”) + γράφω (gráphō, “write”). Doublet of geographia. Use in reference to lavatories derives from the mid-20th century euphemism "show one the geography of the house" in reference to pointing out the toilets. Pronunciation: /dʒiˈɒɡɹəfi/, /ˈdʒɒɡɹəfi/, /d͡ʒiˈɑɡɹəfi/ 1. The study of the physical properties of the earth, including how humans affect and are affected by them. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: Some amount of basic geography is part of any good curriculum for primary and secondary education. Example: These days, instead of going off behind the bike shed during recess to learn about sex, kids need to sneak behind the bike shed to do a little bit of closeted geography or closeted Latin. 2. An atlas or gazetteer. Labels: archaic, countable 3. A description of the earth: a treatise or textbook on geography. Labels: archaic, countable Example: Geographie is (according to Ptolomei) an imitation of the picture of the vvhole Earth. […] VVe take not the Earth ſimply in its ovvn nature as it is an element, for ſo it belongeth to Philoſophy, but for the terreſtrial Globe, ſo it is the ſubiect of Geographie, and is defined to bee a Sphericall body, proportionably compoſed of earth, and vvater. 4. Terrain: the physical properties of a region of the earth. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: The geography of the Andes approaches never made transportation easy; routes to Bogota, Quito, La Paz, and Cuzco were so precipitous as to slow down the development of those Spanish cities in the interior. 5. Any subject considered in terms of its physical distribution. Labels: countable, uncountable 6. Similar books, studies, or regions concerning other planets. Labels: countable, uncountable 7. The physical arrangement of any place, particularly (UK, slang) a house. Labels: countable, uncountable 8. The lavatory: a room used for urination and defecation. Labels: countable, euphemistic, uncountable Example: The Business Man Jocular: ‘I say, where's the geography, old son?’ 9. The relative arrangement of the parts of anything. Labels: countable, figuratively, uncountable Example: The actual geography of the murderous mind is still a mystery. 10. A territory: a geographical area as a field of business or market sector. Labels: countable, uncountable Example: We currently operate only in EU countries but we're building prototype services for various geographies.