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entomology

[en-tuh-mol-uh-jee]
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noun
  1. the branch of zoology dealing with insects.
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Origin of entomology

First recorded in 1760–70; entomo- + -logy
Related formsen·to·mo·log·i·cal [en-tuh-muh-loj-i-kuh l] /ˌɛn tə məˈlɒdʒ ɪ kəl/, en·to·mo·log·ic, adjectiveen·to·mo·log·i·cal·ly, adverben·to·mol·o·gist, nounnon·en·to·mo·log·ic, adjectivenon·en·to·mo·log·i·cal, adjectiveun·en·to·mo·log·i·cal, adjective
Can be confusedentomology etymology
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for entomology

Historical Examples

  • Several of the shelves were occupied by specimens of entomology.

    A Virtuoso's Collection (From "Mosses From An Old Manse")

    Nathaniel Hawthorne

  • Myrmecology: that branch of entomology that deals with ants.

  • The entomology, too, of the desert did not escape our attention.

  • This volume treats of the poetry rather than the science of entomology.

    The Cockatoo's Story

    Mrs. George Cupples

  • One of our masters of entomology did me the honour to visit my laboratory.

    The Mason-bees

    J. Henri Fabre

British Dictionary definitions for entomology

entomology

noun
  1. the branch of science concerned with the study of insects
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Derived Formsentomological (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

Word Origin and History for entomology

n.

1766, from French entomologie (1764), coined from Greek entomon "insect" + -logia "study of" (see -logy). Entomon is neuter of entomos "having a notch or cut (at the waist)," from en "in" (see en- (2)) + temnein "to cut" (see tome).

So called by Aristotle in reference to the segmented division of insect bodies. Compare insect. Related: Entomological. Hybrid insectology (1766, from French insectologie, 1744) is not much used.

I have given the name insectology to that part of natural history which has insects for its object; that of entomology ... would undoubtedly have been more suitable ... but its barbarous sound terryfy'd me. [Charles Bonnet's English translation of his "Contemplation de la nature," 1766]
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
entomology in Medicine

entomology

(ĕn′tə-mŏl′ə-jē)
n.
  1. The study of insects.
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Related formsen′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.
entomology in Science

entomology

[ĕn′tə-mŏl′ə-jē]
  1. The scientific study of insects.
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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.