Select the option that can be used as a one-word substitute for the underlined…

A one-word substitute replaces a descriptive phrase with the single precise term that carries the same meaning. When a phrase describes the practice, skill, or profession of compiling and editing dictionaries, the exact governing term for that practice is Lexicography — the branch of language study devoted to writing, editing, and compiling dictionaries.

The underlined phrase ‘the art of dictionary making’ describes exactly this practice — the skill of compiling a dictionary. Applying the term for that practice to the sentence gives: ‘The teacher, an expert in Lexicography, was felicitated by the education department on Teacher’s Day.’ The sentence reads naturally and preserves the original meaning, confirming Lexicography as the substitute.

Checking this against each near-miss term confirms the distinction:

• Etymology names the study of a word's origin and the history of its form and meaning — not the practice of compiling dictionaries.

• Linguistics names the broader scientific study of language structure, sounds, and meaning in general — not specifically dictionary-making.

• Philology names the study of language as it appears in historical and literary texts, including how languages develop over time — not specifically the compiling of dictionaries.