phrenology

noun

phre·​nol·​o·​gy fri-ˈnä-lə-jē 

: the study of the conformation and especially the contours of the skull based on the former belief that they are indicative of mental faculties and character

phrenological

ˌfre-nə-ˈlä-ji-kəl 

ˌfrē-

adjective

phrenologist

fri-ˈnä-lə-jist 

noun

Examples of phrenology in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Some phrenology enthusiasts—including many Black intellectuals at midcentury, who sought to use phrenology to challenge the rigid racial hierarchies of mainstream racial science—did argue that education and mental cultivation could change the shape of the brain. —Literary Hub, 9 June 2025

There were also sections on the latest technological advances (like telegraphy and phrenology). —Jim Euchner, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024

Get in here, Jon M. Chu is doing Munchkin phrenology. —Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2024

Learn about spiritualism, mesmerism and phrenology. —Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 29 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Greek phren-, phrḗn "midriff, seat of the passions, mind, wits" + -o- + -logy — more at frenetic

Note: In reference to the study of the skull as a guide to the mind, the word was introduced by the English physician and astronomer Thomas Ignatius Maria Forster (1789-1860) in the essay "Sketch of the new Anatomy and Physiology of the Brain and Nervous System of Drs. Gall and Spurzheim, considered as comprehending a complete system of Phrenology," The Pamphleteer, vol. 5, no. 9 (February, 1815), pp. 219-43; and also in "Observations on a new System of Phrenology, or the Anatomy and Physiology of the Brain, of Drs. Gall and Spurzheim," The Philosophical Magazine and Journal, vol. 45 (January-June, 1815), pp. 44-63. As indicated by the titles, Forster gave a name to a system already in existence, introduced by the German anatomist Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828) and Johann Spurzheim (1776-1832). The word phrenology had been in use slightly earlier as a more general name for the scientific study of the mind.

First Known Use

1815, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for phrenology

• anthology
• apology
• astrology
• biology
• christology
• chronology
• conchology
• cosmology
• cryptology
• cytology
• doxology
• ecology

Medical Definition

phrenology

noun

phre·​nol·​o·​gy fri-ˈnäl-ə-jē 

: the study of the conformation and especially the contours of the skull based on the former belief that they are indicative of mental faculties and character