-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.

graphology (s) (noun), graphologies (pl)
1. The system or notation used in dealing with diagram showing the relation between variable quantities,.
2. The art of judging a person's character, disposition, and aptitude from his/her handwriting.
3. The study of handwriting; especially, in order to assess somebody's personality from patterns or features of his or her writing.
4. The linguistic study of writing; such as, the study of writing systems and their relationships to the sound systems of languages.
The study of handwriting when used to analyze the character of the writer.
© ALL rights are reserved.

The study of handwriting as a clue to one's natural ability to do something.
© ALL rights are reserved.

Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
so you can see more of Mickey Bach's cartoons.

graphopathologist (s) (noun), graphopathologists (pl)
Someone who interprets personality disorders from the study of handwriting: Jack thought his uncle's job as a graphopathologist was super interesting because the penmanship of a person was the clue to any mental illnesses that a person might have.
graphopathology (s) (noun) (no pl)
In psychology, the study of handwriting as a symptom of a mental or an emotional disorder: Graphopathology can be described as the medical interpretation or diagnosis of personality disorders based on an individual's handwriting.
gynaecology
gynecologic, gynaecologic
1. A reference to the study and treatment of diseases and disorders of the human female reproductive system.
2. The branch of medicine that devotes itself to the care and prevention physical disorders in women and which for the most part is not concerned with pregnancy.

Gynecologic conditions are also associated with public-health functions, and includes family planning, preconception counseling, genetic counseling, and sexual therapy.

gynecologist
gynecologist, gynaecologist
A physician specializing in the diseases of women, especially those of the female reproductive system.
gynecology
A branch of medicine that deals with the diseases and hygiene of females.
gynecotokology
The measurement of uterine contractions, usually during labor. An older term.
gyneocology
That branch of medicine dealing with the diseases of women; especially diseases of genitourinary organs.
haematology
haematopathology, hematopathology (s) (noun) (no pl)
The study of diseases of the blood: Research included in hematopathology examines ailments of the blood, like anemia, and bleeding disorders, such as leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma.
haemopathology, hemopathology (s) (noun) (no pl)
The study of diseases of the blood: Part of her studies in medicine was doing research in hemopathology in which disorders of the blood were carefully examined and diagnosed.
hagiologist
1. Someone who studies literature dealing with the lives of saints.
2. A person who is knowledgeable of sacred writings and authoritative lists of saints.
hagiology
1. The branch of literature dealing with the lives and legends of the saints.
2. A biography of a saint, or a collection of such biographies.
3. An authoritative list of saints.
4. A collection or history of sacred writings.
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-.