-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.

plutology (s) (noun), plutologies (pl)
The science of wealth or political economies: The financial polls reported in the news fell under the heading of plutology.
The scientific study of wealth.
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pneumatology (s) (noun), pneumatologies (pl)
1. The science pertaining to air or gases: Pneumatology includes the physical and chemical characteristics of air and gases in addition to useful therapeutic applications of air.
2. The study of the phenomena of spiritual beings: The interaction between God and people is an important part of pneumatology.
pneumology
podiatrist, podologist
1. Someone who practices podiatry (diagnosis and treatment of disorders of the feet), a chiropodist.
2. A specialist in podiatry; formerly called chiropodist.
podologist
A specialist in the treatment of feet.
podology
1. The science that refers to the morphology and physiology of the foot; also, a treatise on the foot.
2. The specialty concerned with the diagnosis and medical, surgical, mechanical, physical, and adjunctive treatment of the diseases, injuries, and defects of the feet.
3. The medical study of feet and their treatment.
pogonologist (s) (noun), pogonologists (pl)
1. Someone who specializes in the subject of beards.
2. A barber who is a specialist in styling beards.
pogonology (s) (noun), pogonologies (pl)
The study of beards.
polemology (s) (noun), (no plural)
The study or analysis of human wars and conflicts; especially, international wars: The opposite study of polemology is irenology, which is the study or science of peace.

Some scholars of polemology argue that the practice of war is not linked to any particular type of political organization or society, but that war is a universal event or situation whose form and scope is a result of the kind of society that participates in it.

polymythology
A combination of a number of stories in one narrative or dramatic work.
polysomnographic technologist (s) (noun), polysomnographic technologists (pl)
A sleep specialist who monitors sleep studies and records the relevant physiologic variables: After a test is completed, a polysomnographic technologist analyzes the recorded data by checking for breathing irregularities, sudden changes in brain-wave activity, cardiac rhythm abnormalities, leg movements, body positions, and oxygen saturation during the patient's sleep.
pomologist
pomology
posologist
Someone who specializes in the creating of and mixing or combining of medical doses.
posology
1. The science of medical doses.
2. The science dealing with compilations of medical dosages.
3. The pharmacological determination of appropriate doses of drugs and medicines.
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-.