Geography is one of the most interesting and fascinating sciences. After all, it is directly related to travel and adventure. But what is the meaning of the term “geography”? The meaning of the word is very interesting. And we will try to explain it in our article.
Earth science
One of the oldest sciences in the world is geography. We will consider the meaning of the word a little later, and now we will get acquainted with the history of this discipline. It is known that the foundations of modern geography were laid back in the time of the ancient Hellenes. Their research was generalized and systematized by the ancient Greek scientist Ptolemy in the first century AD. It was in Greece that geography developed by leaps and bounds. At the same time, they were interested in the study of the Earth in Ancient Egypt. Already in the 3rd millennium BC, the first sea expeditions were carried out here in the waters of the Red and Mediterranean Seas. Some elements of geographical descriptions can be found in the ancient books of India - the Vedas or the Mahabharata.
How did geography evolve in subsequent centuries? The importance of this science especially increased in the 16th century, in the so-called era of the great geographical discoveries. Columbus and Magellan, James Cook and Amerigo Vespucci brought from their voyages a lot of new information and facts about our planet, which needed to be studied and systematized in detail. Geography in its modern academic form was laid in the first half of the 19th century by Alexander Humboldt and Karl Ritter. To date, mankind has already conquered the moon, plans to land on Mars in the very near future. However, there are still many unexplored places on Earth - “white spots”, on which the human foot has not set foot. Therefore, geographers in the 21st century will have something to occupy themselves on this planet.
Geography: meaning of the word, origin of the term
When did the term “geography” come about? Who invented it and assigned it to this science? Let’s try to explain the meaning of the word “geography”. This feminine term comes from two ancient Greek words: “geo” (earth) and “grapho” (I write, describe). That is, it can be translated into Russian as follows: "geography."
The term “geography” was coined and introduced into science by the ancient Greek philosopher and scientist Eratosthenes. It happened around the 3rd century BC. How and when is the term “geography” used today? The meaning of the word today can be considered in two aspects. It can be used:
- As a science, combining many smaller disciplines. They study the Earth, features of nature, localization on its surface of the population, minerals, etc.
- As an area of distribution over the territory of a phenomenon or process. For example, oil reserves or the level of general literacy of people.
What does science study geography?
According to the universal definition, geography is a science that studies the so-called geographical shell of the Earth. The latter, in turn, includes four sections: litho-, atmosphere-, hydro- and biosphere. But that is not all. Sometimes they add the technosphere, that is, everything that is created by human hands on the planet.
The main object of research in science can be called the natural laws and patterns of distribution and interaction of various components of the geographic envelope (soils, rocks, vegetation, water, etc.). Modern science is divided into three large blocks: physical, social and economic geography. The first studies nature, the second - the population and living conditions of people, the third - the features and patterns of economic development of territories and countries.
The meaning of the word "historical geography." Features of the scientific discipline
As mentioned above, geography is a complex science. It includes many different disciplines. One of them is precisely historical geography. What is she studying?
Historical geography is a special section that tries to explain various historical processes and events through geographical knowledge. In other words, this science studies history through space. And a special place in it is given precisely to geographical (territorial) factors.
Finally
One of the oldest sciences on Earth is considered to be geography. The meaning of this term is very interesting. The word was invented in ancient Greece. And you can translate it into Russian as “geography”. The term was introduced in the third century BC by the ancient Greek scholar Eratosthenes. By the way, it was he who first measured the parameters of our planet. And he did it quite accurately, not having at hand modern devices and technologies.