entomology

[ en-tuh-mol-uh-jee ]
/ ˌɛn təˈmɒl ə dʒi /

noun

the branch of zoology dealing with insects.

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Origin of entomology

First recorded in 1760–70; entomo- + -logy

OTHER WORDS FROM entomology

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH entomology

entomology etymology

Words nearby entomology

entomion, entomo-, entomofauna, entomol., entomologize, entomology, entomophagous, entomophilous, entomostracan, entophyte, entopic
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for entomologist

British Dictionary definitions for entomologist

entomology
/ (ˌɛntəˈmɒlədʒɪ) /

noun

the branch of science concerned with the study of insects

Derived forms of entomology

entomological (ˌɛntəməˈlɒdʒɪkəl) or entomologic, adjectiveentomologically, adverbentomologist, 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

Medical definitions for entomologist

entomology
[ ĕn′tə-mŏl′ə-jē ]

n.

The study of insects.

Other words from entomology

en′to•mo•log′ic (-mə-lŏj′ĭk) null adj.en′to•mol′o•gist n.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Scientific definitions for entomologist

entomology
[ ĕn′tə-mŏl′ə-jē ]

The scientific study of insects.

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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.