hagiography

C2 Topic:People & Society

US /ˌhæɡiˈɒɡrəfi/ UK /ˌhæɡiˈɒɡrəfi/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
a biography of a saint or venerated person, often idealized or exaggerated

The medieval hagiographies often depicted saints performing miracles.
2

noun
a work that uncritically praises or idolizes its subject

The book was criticized for being more of a hagiography than an objective biography.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a biography of a saint or... saint's lifesaintly biographysacred biographyholy life

2 noun · a work that uncritically... glorified accountidealized portrayalflattering biographylaudatory narrativepanegyric

Opposites

exposé critiquehatchet job

Etymology

From Ancient Greek hagios ('holy') plus graphein ('to write'), giving hagiographia ('writing about the holy'); via Late Latin and Old French hagiographie to English hagiography (17th c.), 'biography of saints'.

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

# hagiography

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˌhæɡiˈɒɡrəfi
**IPA (UK):** ˌhæɡiˈɒɡrəfi

## Meanings
1. a biography of a saint or venerated person, often idealized or exaggerated
2. a work that uncritically praises or idolizes its subject

## Examples
- The medieval hagiographies often depicted saints performing miracles.
- The book was criticized for being more of a hagiography than an objective biography.

## Synonyms
- saint's life
- saintly biography
- sacred biography
- holy life
- glorified account
- idealized portrayal
- flattering biography
- laudatory narrative
- panegyric

## Antonyms
- exposé
- critique
- hatchet job

## Etymology
From Ancient Greek hagios ('holy') plus graphein ('to write'), giving hagiographia ('writing about the holy'); via Late Latin and Old French hagiographie to English hagiography (17th c.), 'biography of saints'.

## AI Etymology
Hagiography comes from Ancient Greek hagios ('holy') plus graphein ('to write'), giving hagiographia ('writing about the holy'); via Late Latin and Old French hagiographie to English hagiography (17th c.), 'biography of saints'. In current use it is a noun meaning "a biography of a saint or venerated person, often idealized or exaggerated". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The word's history is thus visible in its construction: the components remain interpretable even after the whole expression has settled into a conventional English meaning.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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