ethology
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of ethology
1895–1900; earlier, as the study of relations between an organism and its environment < French éthologie, coined by French zoologist I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1805–61); see ethos, -logy
Explanation
The study of how animals behave is called ethology. If you're interested in the way baby ducks imprint on their mother (or a substitute for their mother), you might want to consider studying ethology. The general study of animals is zoology, and ethology is a branch of this science that centers on behavior. Ethology's focus is on behaviors (observed in natural environments) that evolved to help animals adapt, and this field often overlaps with psychology and the study of human behavior. The original 17th century definition of ethology was "mimicry," but by the late 1800s it came to mean "the science of character formation in animals."
Vocabulary lists containing ethology
Primates
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"Animals in Translation" by Temple Grandin and Catherine Johnson, Chapter 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The same way we understand this phenomenon in dogs: ethology.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
He discovered a new approach - called "ethology" - which prized objective study of their behaviour instead.
From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2026
This, the squishy and contentious realm of comparative psychology and cognitive ethology, asks such questions as: Do dogs experience jealousy?
From Washington Post ● Jul. 1, 2022
These changes in behavior, so important to evolution, are studied in a discipline known as behavioral biology, or ethology, at the interface between population biology and psychology.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Etholog′ic, -al, relating to ethology: treating of morality.—ns.
From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various
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