hagiography
/ˌhæɡiˈɒɡɹəfi/noun
hagiography is spelled H-A-G-I-O-G-R-A-P-H-Y: 11 letters and 5 syllables. It appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 85,266th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hagiography means “The study of saints and the documentation of their lives” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hagiography is hagiographies.
How many letters and syllables are in hagiography?
| Letters | 11: H-A-G-I-O-G-R-A-P-H-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 8 million words; the 85,266th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is hagiography?
Hagiography appears about once in every 8 million words in written English, the 85,266th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hagiography?
- US /ˌhæɡiˈɒɡɹəfi/
- US /ˌheɪd͡ʒiˈɒɡɹəfi/
- UK /ˌhæɡiˈɒɡɹəfi/
Hagiography has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-hagiography.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of hagiography
- hagiographies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hagiography mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
The study of saints and the documentation of their lives.
- 2
A biography of a saint.
- 3
A biography which expresses reverence and respect for its subject.
- 4
derogatoryA biography which is uncritically supportive of its subject, often including embellishments or propaganda.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hagiography in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense study of saints:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | hagiographie |
| German | Lebensbeschreibung der Heiligen |
| Portuguese | hagiografia |
| Spanish | hagiografía |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hagiography come from?
From hagio- + -graphy.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).