Etymology Topography

the term topography originated in ancient greece , continued in ancient rome, detailed description of place. word comes greek τόπος (topos, place ) , -γραφία (-graphia, writing ). in classical literature refers writing place or places, largely called local history . in britain , in europe in general, word topography still used in original sense.

detailed military surveys in britain (beginning in late eighteenth century) called ordnance surveys, , term used 20th century generic topographic surveys , maps. earliest scientific surveys in france called cassini maps after family produced them on 4 generations. term topographic surveys appears american in origin. earliest detailed surveys in united states made “topographical bureau of army,” formed during war of 1812, became corps of topographical engineers in 1838. after work of national mapping assumed u.s. geological survey in 1878, term topographical remained general term detailed surveys , mapping programs, , has been adopted other nations standard.

in 20th century, term topography started used describe surface description in other fields mapping in broader sense used, particularly in medical fields such neurology.