conchology

[ kong-kol-uh-jee ]

/ kɒŋˈkɒl ə dʒi /

noun

the branch of zoology dealing with the shells of mollusks.

Nearby words

conchobar, conchoid, conchoidal, conchological, conchologically, conchology, conchos, conchy, concierge, conciliar, conciliate

Origin of conchology

1770–80; conch + -o- + -logy

Related forms

con·cho·log·i·cal

[kong-kuh-loj-i-kuh l] /ˌkɒŋ kəˈlɒdʒ ɪ kəl/, adjectivecon·cho·log·i·cal·ly, adverbcon·chol·o·gist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for conchology

Conchology was only the form of the science suited to a time when the shell was more considered than its inhabitant.
Birds and All Nature, Vol. VI, No. 2, September 1899|Various
Col. Whiting called at my office to get the loan of an elementary work on conchology.
Personal Memoirs Of A Residence Of Thirty Years With The Indian Tribes On The American Frontiers|Henry Rowe Schoolcraft
We have dedicated it to the founder of the section Ameria, a gentleman well known for his deep researches in conchology.
Explorations in Australia, The Journals of John McDouall Stuart|John McDouall Stuart
They appointed me clerk of that Committee on Conchology and then allowed me no amanuensis to play billiards with.
Sketches New and Old, Complete|Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

It might have been chess, it might have been conchology, it might have been heraldry.
The Mountebank|William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for conchology

conchology

/ (kɒŋˈkɒlədʒɪ) /

noun

the study and collection of mollusc shells

Derived Forms

conchological (ˌkɒŋkəˈlɒdʒɪkəl), adjectiveconchologist, noun

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