entomology
Americannoun
noun
Word History
Scientists who study insects (there are close to a million that can be studied!) are called entomologists. Why are they not called “insectologists”? Well, in a way they are. The word insect comes from the Latin word insectum, meaning “cut up or divided into segments.” (The plural of insectum, namely insecta, is used by scientists as the name of the taxonomic class that insects belong to.) This Latin word was created in order to translate the Greek word for “insect,” which is entomon. This Greek word also literally means “cut up or divided into segments,” and it is the source of the word entomology. The Greeks had coined this term for insects because of the clear division of insect bodies into three segments, now called the head, thorax, and abdomen.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of entomology
Explanation
Entomology is the study of insects. If you want to know all about ants, beetles, and mosquitoes entomology is for you. From the Greek word for “knowledge,” the suffix -logy literally means “the study of,” and you see it often. Theology is the study of divine beings, anthropology is the study of human cultures, psychology is the study of the mind. Add the Greek prefix entomon, for insect, and you have the branch of biology that focuses on bugs.
Vocabulary lists containing entomology
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Power Suffix: -ology
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "E"
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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.
“It’s the most aggressive tick in North America,” said Thomas Mather, professor of public health entomology and head of a tick research center at the University of Rhode Island.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026
The curriculum combined fire hose blasts of information about rod physics and trout-stream entomology with hands-on instruction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026
She collected some in a jar and brought them to her supervisor, Bryan Danforth, professor of entomology in Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
From Science Daily ● May 28, 2026
“If the female is not receptive, you better run,” said Rodrigo Monjaraz Ruedas, assistant curator of entomology for the Natural History Museum of L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2025
During the past quarter-century almost no mention of it is made in the proliferation of scientific literature in entomology.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
