Despite the ancient origins of the Greek [and later, via French, Latin] suffix -logia, and eventually -ology, the addition of -ology to mean “the study of" a subject didn’t begin in earnest until the mid-1800s. A few related words (such as theology) existed before then, but it was not a commonly-used root in the sciences before that period.
Today, though, it’s a ubiquitous root, used in science and nonce words alike. Want to study some animal -ologies? Here are a few of those fields!
[Of course, many of these fields of study don’t universally use the Latin/Greek name, but it’s fun to know!]
Biology: The study of organic life. The root bio- is from the Greek bios, meaning “the way of life, the way one lives” (properly-formed example: biography), so “biology” takes some liberties with its modern definition.
Zoology: The study of animals. From Greek zoion (animal, living being).
Birds! Ornithology
- Extinct birds! Paleornithology
- Bird nests! Caliology
- Bird eggs! Oology- Nestlings! Neossology
- Bird feathers! Pteryolology
Bugs! Entomology
- Honeybees! Apiology
- All bees! Mellitology
- Wasps! Vespology
- Beetles! Coleopterology
- Grasshoppers! Orthopterology [rare alt. Acridilogy]
- Flies! Dipterology
- Ants! Myrmecology
- Bugs on dead people! Forensic entomology
- Pollination! Anthecology
Arachnids! Arachnology
- Spiders! Araneology
- Ticks and mites! Acarology
Other Arthropods! Arthropodology
- Crabs! Carcinology
- Centipedes and millipedes! Myriapodology
- Squids, octopi, and other molluscs! Malacology
- Shells! Conchology
Fish! Ichthyology
- Sharks and rays! Elasmobranchology
- Freshwater fish! Limnobiology [full freshwater ecosystem]
- Plankton! Planktology
- Extinct fishes! Palaeichthyology
Amphibians and reptiles! Herpetology [amphibians only - Amphibiology]
- Snakes! Ophiology
- Frogs! Batrachology
- Turtles! Cheloniology
- Lizards and geckos! Squamatology or Saurology
- Salamanders! Caudatology
Mammals! Mammology [alt. Mastology, Theriology]
- Platypuses and echidnas! Monotreme mammalogy
- Placental mammals! Eutheriology
- Marsupials! Metatheriology
- Whales! Cetology
- Horses! Hippology
- Horses but also tapirs and rhinos! Perissodactology
- Dogs! Cynology
- Cats! Felinology
- Primates! Primatology
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