Lexicon

ANTRHOPOLOGY
The general study of human societies and cultures. The subject is generally broken down into three subdisciplines: biological (physical) anthropology, cultural (social) anthropology, and archaeology.
From the Greek word άνθρωπος, “human” or “person”

ARCHAEOLOGY
The study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and the analysis of artifacts and other physical remains
‘The sience of digging in the earth in an attempt to discover a civilization worse than our own’ (Mark Dion)
ORIGIN early 17th centuray (in the sense-ancient history-): from Latin archaeologica, from Greek arkhaiologia ‘ancient history’, from arkhaios ‘ancient’. The current sense dates from the mid 19th century.

ASTRONOMY
The branch of science that deals with celestial objects, space and the physical universe as a whole.

BIOGEOGRAPHY
The branch of biology that deals with the geographical distribution of plants and animals.

BIOLOGY
The study of living organisms, devided into many specialized fields that cover their morphology, physiology, anatomy, behaviour, origin and distribution.
-the plants and animals of a particular area: the biology of California
-the physiology, behaviour, and other qualities of a particular organism or class of organisms: human biology
ORIGIN early 19th century: coined in German, via French from Greek bios ‘life’ + -logy.

COSMOLOGY
The sience of the origin and development of the universe. Modern astronomy is dominated by the Big Bang theory, which brings together observational astronomy and practical physics.
ORIGIN mid 17th century: from French cosmologie or modern Latin cosmologia, from Greek kosmos ‘order or world’ + -logia ‘discourse’

CRYPTOZOOLOGY
The search for and study of animals whose existence or survival is disputed or unsubstantiated, such as the Loch Ness monster and the Yeti.

DENDROLOGY
The scientific study of trees.

ECOLOGY
The branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings.
The political movement that seeks to protect the environment, especialy from pollution.
-(also human ecology) the sudy of the interaction of people with their environment.
ORIGIN late 19th century (originally oecology): from Greek oikos ‘house’ + -logy.

ENTOMOLOGY
The branch of zoology concerned with the study of insects.
ORIGIN mid 18th century: from French entomology or Modern Latin entomologia, from Greek entomon (denoting an insect) + -logia.

ESCHATOLOGY
The part of theology concerned with death, judgement, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind.
ORIGIN mid 19th century: from Greek eskhatos ‘last’ + -logy.

ETHNOLOGY
The study of the characteristics of various people and the differences and relationships between them.

ETHOLOGY
The sience of animal behaviour.
-the study of human behaviour and social organization from a biological perspective.
ORIGIN late 19th century: via Latin from Greek ethologia, from ethos ‘nature, disposition’, plural ‘customs’.

ETYMOLOGY
The study of the origin of words and the way in which their meanings have changed throughout history

EXOBIOLOGY
The branch of sience that deals with the possibility and likely nature of life on other planets or in space.

GENEALOGY
A line of descent traced continuously from an ancestor.
– the study and tracing of lines of descent or development
-a plant’s or animal’s line of evolutionary development from earlier forms.

GEOGRAPHY
The study of the physical features of the earth and its atmosphere, and of human activity as it affects and is affected by these, including the distribution of populations and resources, land use, and industries.

GEOLOGY
The science that deals with the earth’s physical structure and substance, its history, and the processes that act on it.
-the geological features of an area: the geology of the Outer Hebrides.
-the geological features of a planetary body: the geology of the surface of Mars.
A geologist is a person who buries himself in the study of the earth before being buried in it.
ORIGIN late 18th century: from modern Latin geologia, from Greek ge ‘earth’ + -logia.

GEOMORPHOLOGY
The scientific study of landforms and the processes that shape them.

HERPETOLOGY
The branch of zoology concerned with reptiles and amphibians.
ORIGIN late 19th century: from Greek herpeton ‘reptile’ (from herpein ’to creep’) + -logy.

HYDROLOGY
The science that deals with the amounts and quality of water moving and accumulating on the land surface and in the soils and rocks near the surface.

HOROLOGY
The study measurement of time.
ORIGIN early 19th century: from Greek hora ’time’ + -logy.

ICHTHYOLOGY
The branch of zoology that deals with fishes.

MATHEMATICS
The abstract science of numer, quantity and space.

OCEANOGRAPHY
The branch of physical geography that studies the Earth’s oceans and seas.

ONTHOLOGY
The branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being.
ORIGIN early 18th ceentury: from Modern Latin ontologia, from Greek on, ont- ‘being’ + -logy.

OOLOGY
The study or collecting of birds’ eggs.

ORNITHOLOGY
The scientific study of birds.
ORIGIN late 17th century: from Modern Latin ornithologia, from Greek ornithologos ’treating of birds.

OSTEOLOGY
The study of the structure and function of the skeleton and bony structures.

PALAEOGEOGRAPHY
The study of the distribution of the continents through geologic time through examining the preserved material in the stratigraphic record.

PALEONTOLOGY
The branch of science concerned with fossil animals and plants.
ORIGIN mid 19th ceentury: from paleo- (of prehistoric times) + Greek onta ‘beings’ (neuter plural of on, present participle of einai ‘be’) + -logy.

PHILOLOGY
The branch of knowledge that deals with structure, historical development, and relationships of a language or languages

PHILOSOPHY
The study of the fundamental nature of knowledge, reality, and existence, esp. When considered as an academic discipline.
-a set of views and theories of a particular philosopher concerning such study or an aspect of it: a clash of rival socialist philosophies.
-the study of the theoretical basis of a particular branch of knowledge or experience: the pholosophy of sience.
-a theory or attitude held by a person or organization that acts as a guiding principle for behaviour: don’t expect anything and you won’t be disappointed, that’s my philosophy.
‘An unusually ingenious attempt to think fallaciously’ (Bertrand Russell)
ORIGIN Middle English: from Old French philosophie, via Latin from Greek philosophia ‘love of wisdom’.

POLITICAL SCIENCE
The branch of knowledge that deals with systems of government; the analysis of political activity and behaviour.

PYROGRAPHY
The study of wood burning

SOCIOLOGY
The studie of the development, structure and functioning of human society.
-the studie of social problems
ORIGIN Mid 19th century: from French sociologie (from Latin socius ‘companion’) + -logy

TAXONOMY
The branch of science concerned with the classification esp. of organisms: systematics
ORIGIN early 19th cent.:coined in French from Greek taxis ‘arrangement’ + -nomia ‘distribution.’

UNIVERSAL
Of, affecting, or done by all people or things on the world or in a particular group; applicable to all cases: universal adult suffrage/the incidents caused universal concern.
-(of a tool or machine) adjustable to or appropriate for all requirements; not restricted to a single purpose or position.
ORIGIN late Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin universalis, from universus

ZOOLOGY
The study of animals.
(Greek zoon=animal, logos=word)

ZOOTOMY
The study of Animal anatomy or animal dissection.