-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.
2. The study of organisms living in lakes, ponds, and other standing freshwater bodies.
Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.
2. The science of words, especially the field of orthographic (correct spelling) and homophonic word games.
Ludology focuses on game designing, players, and their role in society and culture.
2. A person who is versed in the study of books with colored illustrations: As a result of her artistic abilities and specialization in ancient manuscripts, Julie was hired by the library as a luminologist to catalogue and repair the illuminations in the manuscript collection.