-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.

speleologist, spelaeologist
Someone who specializes in the scientific study of caves and other karst (landscape of distinctive dissolution patterns often marked by underground drainages) features, their make-up, structure, physical properties, history, life forms, and the processes by which they form (speleogenesis) and change over time (speleomorphology).
speleology, speleological; spelaeology, spelaeological
1. The scientific study and exploration of the geological and ecological features of caves.
2. The recreational activity of exploring caves.
speleomorphology
The processes by which caves change their formations.
spelologist
spermology
sphygmology (s) (noun), sphygmologies (pl)
splanchnology (s) (noun) (no pl)
Study of the visceral organs: In medical school, Sam took a course in splanchnology to learn all about the internal organs, like the liver, stomach, and heart.
splenology
staurology
A science or doctrine of the cross (crucifix).
stereology
stomatologist (s) (noun), stomatologists (pl)
An individual who studies the mouth and its ailments; a practitioner of oral medicine: Albert's father was a stomatologist, a medical specialist who diagnosed and treated diseased situations in the mouth, like teeth, gums, jaws, and other oral issues.
stomatology (s) (noun) (no pl)
The scientific study of the mouth and its diseases and disorders:; oral medicine: Sam wanted to study stomatology that dealt with the structures, functions, ailments, and disorders of the mouth.
stomatomology (s) (noun) (no pl)
One branch of dentistry that deals with the diseases of the oral cavity: While Joe was studying dentistry, he took a course in stomatomology because he wanted to know more about all the illnesses and disorders of the cavity of the mouth.
suicidology
syllepsiology
The physiological study of conception and pregnancy.
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-.