entomology
- the branch of zoology dealing with insects.
Origin of entomology
Examples from the Web for entomology
Historical Examples of entomology
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.
Explanation of Terms Used in EntomologyJohn. B. Smith
The entomology, too, of the desert did not escape our attention.
The Caravan Route between Egypt and SyriaLudwig Salvator
This volume treats of the poetry rather than the science of entomology.
The Cockatoo's StoryMrs. George Cupples
One of our masters of entomology did me the honour to visit my laboratory.
The Mason-beesJ. Henri Fabre
entomology
- the branch of science concerned with the study of insects
Word Origin and History for entomology
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]
entomology
(ĕn′tə-mŏl′ə-jē)- The study of insects.
entomology
- 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.