-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.

iatreusiology
The science of therapeutics.
iatrology
1. The study of medicine.
2. A rarely used term for medical science.
3. The science of, or a treatise on, medicine.
i-biology
The use of information technology to make new biological discoveries and to improve collaboration among scientists.

The i-biology approach represents the consolidation of the many diverse data in life science research into refined information. In contrast to bioinformatics, which represents solely computational biology, i-biology stands for an integrated approach, bringing applied scientists and bioinformaticians together.

ichnolithology
The branch of science which deals with fossil footprints.
ichnology
ichthyologist (s) (noun), ichthyologists (pl)
Someone who specializes in the scientific study of fish: Shanna's cousin spends a lot of his time on the coast because he is an ichthyologist and he wants to learn more about aquatic environments.
A collector of fish.
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A fish fancier or expert.
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Go to this Word A Day Revisited Index
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ichthyology
1. The branch of zoology that deals with the scientific study of fish.
2. The study of fish and fishlike vertebrates.

Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish

Since there are as many species of fish as all other vertebrates put together, and they have been evolving for a very long time, there is a bewildering variety; while many species have been found and described, there is much that is still not known about their biology and behavior.

The practice of ichthyology is closely connected with marine biology, limnology, and oceanography

Ichthyology is the scientific study of fishes. This includes the bony fish (Osteichthyes), the cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes); such as, sharks and rays, and the jawless fish (Agnatha).

An ichthyologist is a person who devotes a career to studying some of the estimated 25,000 to 30,000 species of bony fishes, sharks, rays, and lobe-finned fishes. Areas of specialty are as varied as the people who call themselves ichthyologists, and may include the study of classification, life history, anatomy, behavior, ecology or physiology, and aquarium maintenance, fish breeding, and conservation.

Ichthyologists have great concern for their subjects!

What ichthyologists have in common is a fascination, regard for, and enduring curiosity about specific and varieties of fishes, the dominant vertebrate animals in marine and fresh waters.

In addition to being the most species-rich group of vertebrates, fish are often used as experimental models for the demonstration of basic biological principles.

ichthyology
A man is concerned about his sick fish

A click on the image will take you to the series of illustrated quizzes which will appear in random order or you may click on this image quiz link.

There are specialists who devote a great deal of time to their profession of ichthyology.

ichthyopaleontology (s) (noun); ichthyopaleontologies (pl)
The paleontology of fishes.
ichthyotoxicology
The study of natural toxins produced by fish, their cause, detection, and effects, and the treatment of conditions produced by them.
iconologist
Someone who deals with the description, analysis, and interpretation of icons or iconic representations.
iconology
1. The branch of knowledge which deals with the subject of icons (or images).
2. The subject matter of this study, icons collectively, or as objects of investigation.
3. A branch of art history that studies visual images and their symbolic meanings (especially in social or political terms).
4. A symbolic representation; symbolism.
ideologist
ideology
idiatrology
Medical science or the study of medicine.
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-.