-ology, -logy, -ologist, -logist

(Greek: a suffix meaning: to talk, to speak; a branch of knowledge; any science or academic field that ends in -ology which is a variant of -logy; a person who speaks in a certain manner; someone who deals with certain topics or subjects)

The word -ology is a back-formation from the names of certain disciplines. The -logy element basically means "the study of ____". Such words are formed from Greek or Latin roots with the terminal -logy derived from the Greek suffix -λογια (-logia), speaking, from λεγειν (legein), "to speak".

The suffix -ology is considered to be misleading sometimes as when the "o" is actually part of the word stem that receives the -logy ending; such as, bio + logy.

Through the years -ology and -logy have come to mean, "study of" or "science of" and either of these suffixes often utilize the form of -ologist, "one who (whatever the preceding element refers to)".

The examples shown in this unit represent just a small fraction of the many words that exist in various dictionaries.

deltiologist
Someone who collects post cards. There is no connection to the "deltic muscle".
deltiologist, deltiologists
A collector, or collectors, of post cards.
deltiology
The hobby of collecting post cards.
demonologist
Someone who writes about, or is versed in, demonology.
demonology
1. The study of demons; especially, those that are frequent in the folklore of some societies.
2. The written presentations of demons or of beliefs about demons.
dendranthropology, dendranthropologic, dendranthropological
1. The theory that trees were involved in the origin of mankind; the aboreal origins of humans.
2. Study based on the theory that mankind came from trees.
dendroarcheology
The dating of events or time intervals in past periods based on the variation in patterns of growth rings of trees and old wood.
dendrochronologist
A specialist in dating by examining tree rings.
dendrochronology
1. A method of dating using annual tree-rings; tree-ring chronology.
2. The science of tree-ring analysis and its implications.
3. In archaeology, a method of dating wooden objects by analyzing the pattern of their annual rings and comparing this pattern to an established tree-ring sequence for the region.
dendroclimatology
1. The determination of past climatic conditions from the study of the annual growth rings of trees.
2. The study of past climates by the examination of the annual growth rings in (ancient) timber.
dendrohydrology
In hydrology, the study of tree-ring configuration to determine hydrologic occurrences; variations in the width reveal variations in precipitation or water flow.
dendrologist
A specialist in the identification and classification of trees and shrubs.
dendrology, dendrologic, dendrological
1. The branch of forestry that focuses on the identification and classification of trees and shrubs.
2. The botanical study of trees and other woody plants.
deontologist
Someone who practices deontology; that is, duty or moral obligation.
deontology
The science of duty; that branch of knowledge which deals with moral obligations.

Coined by the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) in 1826.

Cross references of word families related directly, or indirectly, to: "talk, speak, speech; words, language; tongue, etc.": cit-; clam-; dic-; fa-; -farious; glosso-; glotto-; lalo-; linguo-; locu-; logo-; loqu-; mythico-; ora-; -phasia; -phemia; phon-; phras-; Quotes: Language,Part 1; Quotes: Language, Part 2; Quotes: Language, Part 3; serm-; tongue; voc-.