Okuzeka
History vocabulary · Historiography and Historical Thinking

Prosopography

Meaning in history, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In history, prosopography means: The systematic study of a defined group's lives to identify shared backgrounds, careers and connections.

In Turkish: prosopografi, toplu yaşam öyküsü incelemesi

How it is used

Begin with a group and comparable information; it is not simply one detailed biography.

Example sentences

  1. Her prosopography of officials compares schooling, marriage and promotion.

    Repeated life details reveal patterns across the group.

  2. Prosopography exposed family links among several apparently unrelated judges.

    Collective comparison can uncover networks missed in individual accounts.

Common collocations

  • a prosopographical study
  • prosopography of officials
  • historianA person who studies and writes about the past, usually by examining sources, comparing evidence and offering an interpretation of events.
  • primary sourceEvidence created at the time being studied or by people who witnessed it, such as letters, diaries, official records, photographs or objects.

More terms: Historiography and Historical Thinking

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: