hagiography

hag-i-og-ra-phy · noun

imported

Definitions

noun

  1. 1.

    The writing of the lives of saints.

  2. 2.

    (Derogatory) A biography that idealizes or idolizes its subject, presenting them as saintly or heroic.

  3. 3.

    The branch of literature dealing with lives and legends of saints.

Forms

plural: hagiographies

Related words

See also: biography, martyrology, saint
Synonyms: idealizing biography, saint's life

Etymology

From Greek hagios "holy, sacred" + -graphia "writing," formed in the 19th century.