Origin: Greek suffix -ography
Biography has 3 different meanings across 1 category:
an account of the series of events making up a person's life
"Her biography details every significant event that shaped her journey from childhood to becoming a renowned artist."
A person's life story, especially one published.
"After reading her biography, I learned how many hardships she overcame before becoming famous."
In plain English: A biography is a story about someone's life written by another person.
"She bought a biography of her favorite singer to read during the long flight."
Usage: A biography is a written account of another person's life, typically authored by someone else and often published as a book or article. Use this term to describe factual narratives about real individuals, distinguishing it from an autobiography, which is written by the subject themselves.
To write a biography of.
"She spent five years researching and finally wrote a biography of the reclusive artist."
In plain English: To write a biography is to tell the life story of someone else.
"The author decided to write a biography of the famous scientist."
Usage: Biography is primarily a noun referring to an account of someone's life and should not be used as a verb in modern English. Instead of saying he biographyed his subject, use the standard phrase "wrote a biography of."
The word biography comes from the New Latin term biographia, which combines the Ancient Greek words for "life" and "to write." It entered English to describe a written account of someone's life.