Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Hermeneutics \Her`me*neu"tics\, n. [Gr. ? (sc. ?).]
   The science of interpretation and explanation; exegesis;
   esp., that branch of theology which defines the laws whereby
   the meaning of the Scriptures is to be ascertained.
   --Schaff-Herzog Encyc.

Source : WordNet®

hermeneutics
     n : the branch of theology that deals with principles of
         exegesis