Meanings
plural linguistic anthropologies
- uncountableusuallyanthropologyThe branch of anthropology that studies language and language use.
Linguistic anthropology is the study of language, first in its origin, as the medium of communicating thought, emotion and volition.
1881, Otis T. Mason, “Progress of Anthropology in America during the year 1880”, in The American Naturalist, page 6211 more example
Additionally, linguistic anthropology is one of the four subfields of anthropology, so my linganth tribe’s work overlaps, unsurprisingly, with the work of archaeologists, biological anthropologists, and, especially, social and cultural anthropologists
2017, James Wilce, Culture and Communication, page xvi
Origin
Compound of linguistic + anthropology. Attested from the 19th century.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
linguistic anthropology. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/linguistic%20anthropology
“linguistic anthropology.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/linguistic%20anthropology. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “linguistic anthropology,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/linguistic%20anthropology.
Source: linguistic anthropology on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.