-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.

lunarology (s) (noun), lunarologies (pl)
The scientific study of the moon.
macroecology
The ecology of a macrohabitat or larger generalized area.
macrologist (s) (noun), macrologists (pl)
A dull conversationalist; usually, someone who is often at parties or other social gatherings.
macrology (s) (noun), macrologies (pl)
A long and tedious conversation without much substance; a superfluity or over abundance of words: Macrology is not just a speech, but it is also excessive in length and very boring.
Talking too much without real substance.
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macropathology (s) (noun), macropathologies (pl)
The branch of pathology that pertains to the large anatomical changes in diseases: While June was studying medicine, she was fascinated by macropathology which dealt with gross alterations in the structure of the human body in relation to diseases.
maieutologist
1. A practitioner of maieutics.
2. An obstetrician.
malacologist
A specialist in malacology.
malacology
The science, or branch of zoology, that involves the study of the formation and habits of soft-bodied animals or mollusks.
malacozoology (s) (noun) (no pl)
The study of molluscs: Malacozoology is the science of soft-bodied invertebrate animals, normally with a hard shell consisting of one or more parts.
malariology (s) (noun) (usually no plural)
The scientific study of the infectious disease caused by parasites that infect the red blood cells: At the hospital's Infectious Disease Department, Dr. Smithson was a specialist in malariology where he was studying blood smears in the laboratory at six-hour to twelve-hour intervals until the parasites became clearly visible under the microscope.
mantologist
Someone who tells fortunes.
mantology
The art of fortune-telling or divining past, present, and/or future events.
If those who can foretell the future
Happen to be professors,
They're called "prescient prognosticators,"
If not, they're just "lucky guessers."
—George O. Ludcke
marine biologist (s) (noun), marine biologists (pl)
An individual who specializes in the branch of the living organisms that inhabit the sea: Jim's uncle was a marine biologist who spent much of his life either in the water engrossed in rare fish or in front of his computer reading about the newest discoveries in ocean life.
marine biology (s) (noun) (no pl)
A branch of biology that deals with the living organisms that inhabit the sea: Since Mary lived near the ocean, she wanted to study marine biology and learn as much as possible about life in the vastness of the Pacific.
marine meteorology (s) (noun), marine meteorologies (pl)
The study of oceanic regions: Marine meteorology is a part of meteorology that consists of coastal and island areas, and it also assists in the needs of surface and air navigation over the seas.
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-.