ichnology

American

[ik-nol-uh-jee] / ɪkˈnɒl ə dʒi /

noun

the branch of paleontology concerned with the study of fossilized tracks, trails, burrows, borings, or other trace fossils as evidence of the occurrence or behavior of the organisms that produced them.

ichnology British

/ ɪkˈnɒlədʒɪ, ˌɪknəˈlɒdʒɪkəl /

noun

the study of trace fossils

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

ichnological adjective

Etymology

Origin of ichnology

First recorded in 1850–55; ichno- + -logy

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.

Martin is a geologist and paleontologist focused primarily on ichnology -- the study of traces of life such as tracks, burrows, nests and tooth marks.

From Science Daily • Nov. 16, 2023

His collection is preserved in the Hitchcock Ichnological Museum of Amherst College, and a description of it was published in 1858 in his report to the Massachusetts legislature on the ichnology of New England.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 5 "Hinduism" to "Home, Earls of" by Various

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023