entomology

[en-tuh-mol-uh-jee]

noun

1. the branch of zoology dealing with insects.

entomology

/ ˌɛntəməˈlɒdʒɪkəl, ˌɛntəˈmɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. the branch of science concerned with the study of insects

entomology

1. The scientific study of insects.

Other Word Forms

• entomological adjective
• entomologic adjective
• entomologically adverb
• entomologist noun
• nonentomologic adjective
• nonentomological adjective
• unentomological adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of entomology¹

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

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.

Example Sentences

The phenomenon is ironic, said Ric Bessin, a professor of entomology at the University of Kentucky, since ladybugs have traditionally been a symbol of cleanliness and order.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Former University of California, Riverside entomology graduate student Michelle Miner questioned whether the added pressure from aggressive ants could be making things worse for these essential pollinators.

Read more on Science Daily

Heather Ferguson, professor of medical entomology at the University of Glasgow, described the initial response to their three-year long project as "tremendous".

Read more on BBC

He is also a member of an entomology association in Modena, a city in the north of Italy.

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“There’s no sense making a web … if there’s nothing to eat,” said Rick Vetter, a retired research associate in UC Riverside’s entomology department.

Read more on Los Angeles Times