bracketologyn.
/ˌbrakᵻˈtɒlədʒi/, U.S. /ˌbrækəˈtɑlədʒi/ 1. The action or practice of augmenting a manuscript text with passages known or thought to be missing, enclosed in brackets.Apparently an isolated use.
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1983 J. M. Duban Anc. & Mod. Images Sappho 2 The translator of Greek lyric poetry, when not dutifully bracketing lacunae (‘bracketology’)..can as readily be found converting fancy to context.
2. U.S. The activity of predicting the participating teams in a tournament (typically the NCAA basketball tournament) and the winners of the competition's stages, as depicted in a diagram representing the sequence of matches. Also as a count noun: a set of such predictions.
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1997 Plain Dealer (Cleveland, Ohio) 10 Mar. 1c Every student of bracketology knows the NCAA Selection Committee's seeding process can lead to some success in picking winners, but it's the daring choice of a surprise first- or second-round winner that earns the respect of one's co-workers.
2000 Montgomery (Alabama) Advertiser 12 Mar. e6/1 Over-the-edge fans study Advanced Bracketology to prepare for today's events.
2007 Wisconsin State Jrnl. 28 Dec. d4/4 A lot of things can happen, so I try not to get too caught up in the bracketologies.
2012 D. P. Gallagher & J. Costal Self-aware Leader x. 147 ESPN adopted Joe's bracketology system and marketed it to millions of sports fans.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, December 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1983