craniology

American  

[krey-nee-ol-uh-jee] / ˌkreɪ niˈɒl ə dʒi /

noun

1. the science that deals with the size, shape, and other characteristics of human skulls.

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craniology British  

/ ˌkreɪnɪəˈlɒdʒɪkəl, ˌkreɪnɪˈɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. the branch of science concerned with the shape and size of the human skull, esp with reference to variations between different races

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Other Word Forms

• craniologist
  noun
• craniological
  adjective
• craniologically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of craniology

First recorded in 1800–10; cranio- + -logy

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

craniology

Now are craniology and you upon your trial.

From Put Yourself in His Place by Reade, Charles

Anthropologists no longer rely solely on craniology, and the measurement of the skull, to distinguish race.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3 "Banks" to "Bassoon" by Various

I would say of craniology, as I have already said of physiognomy, that there is such a science attainable probably by man, but that we have yet made scarcely any progress in the acquiring it.

From Thoughts on Man, His Nature, Productions and Discoveries Interspersed with Some Particulars Respecting the Author by Godwin, William

The label on one of the skulls in the Munich Collection, “Etruscan-Tyrol, or Inca-Peruvian,” characterizes not too unfairly the present state of ethnological craniology.

From Chips From A German Workshop. Vol. III. Essays on Literature, Biography, and Antiquities by Müller, F. Max (Friedrich Max)

Another had a strange notion of how to spell craniology, for he wrote ``Chonology is the science of the brane.''

From Literary Blunders by Wheatley, Henry Benjamin