cetology

American

[see-tol-uh-jee] / siˈtɒl ə dʒi /

noun

the branch of zoology dealing with whales and dolphins.

cetology British

/ siːˈtɒlədʒɪ, ˌsiːtəˈlɒdʒɪkəl /

noun

the branch of zoology concerned with the study of whales (cetaceans)

"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

cetological adjective
cetologist noun

Etymology

Origin of cetology

First recorded in 1850–55; cet- + -o- + -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.

What emerges is a brilliant film both for Melville enthusiasts and for those who have tried to read the book and lost their way in the labyrinth of philosophic asides, historical recollections, cetology and archaicisms.

From Time Magazine Archive

Therefore you must not, in every case at least, take the higgledy-piggledy whale statements, however authentic, in these extracts, for veritable gospel cetology.

From Moby Dick, or, the whale by Melville, Herman

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