ethology

ethol·o·gy

noun \ē-ˈthä-lə-jē\

Definition of ETHOLOGY

1

: a branch of knowledge dealing with human character and with its formation and evolution

2

: the scientific and objective study of animal behavior especially under natural conditions

— etho·log·i·cal \ˌē-thə-ˈlä-ji-kəl, ˌe-thə-\ adjective

— ethol·o·gist \ē-ˈthä-lə-jist\ noun

Origin of ETHOLOGY

Greek ethos + English -logy

First Known Use: circa 1843

Rhymes with ETHOLOGY

andrology, anthology, apology, astrology, biology, bryology, cetology, Christology, chronology, conchology, cosmology, cryptology, cytology, dendrology, doxology, ecology, enology, ethnology, fetology, garbology, gemology, geology, graphology, haplology, histology, homology, horology, hydrology, hymnology, Indology, limnology, lithology, mixology, morphology, mycology, myology, mythology, necrology, nephrology, neurology, nosology, oncology, ontology, oology, pathology, pedology, penology, petrology, phlebology, phonology, phrenology, phycology, proctology, psychology, scatology, seismology, serology, sexology, sinology, symbology, tautology, technology, tetralogy, theology, topology, trichology, typology, ufology, urology, virology, zoology

ethol·o·gy

noun \ē-ˈthäl-ə-jē\   (Medical Dictionary)

plural ; ethol·o·gies

Medical Definition of ETHOLOGY

: the scientific and objective study of animal behavior especially under natural conditions

—etho·log·i·cal \ˌē-thə-ˈläj-i-kəl, ˌeth-ə-\ (audio pronunciation) (audio pronunciation) adjective

ethology

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Study of animal behaviour. It is a combination of laboratory and field science, with strong ties to other disciplines (e.g., neuroanatomy, ecology, evolution). Though many naturalists have studied aspects of animal behaviour through the centuries, the modern science of ethology is considered to have arisen as a discrete discipline with the work in the 1920s of Nikolaas Tinbergen and Konrad Lorenz. Interested in the behavioral process rather than in a particular animal group, ethologists often study one type of behaviour (e.g., aggression) in various unrelated animals.