phaneroscopy

noun

phan·​er·​os·​co·​py

ˌfanəˈräskəpē

plural -es

: the formal analysis of appearances apart from the questions of to whom they appear and of their material content that discovers broad classes of appearances, describes their features, proves that a short list of classes is exhaustive, and enumerates the principal subdivisions of the categories

Word History

Etymology

phaner- + -scopy

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