entomology

American  

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

noun

1. the branch of zoology dealing with insects.

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entomology British  

/ ˌɛntəməˈlɒdʒɪkəl, ˌɛntəˈmɒlədʒɪ /

noun

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

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entomology Scientific  

/ 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.

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of entomology

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

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.

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.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 16, 2025

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.

From Science Daily • Nov. 13, 2025

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

From BBC • Sep. 12, 2024

“It changes the architecture of the placenta and the ways nutrients and oxygen are exchanged with the fetus,” said Courtney Murdock, an associate professor at Cornell University’s department of entomology.

From Salon • Jun. 3, 2024

From 1911 to the early 1950s this ranked as a central notion in entomology, attract- ing the attention of many fascinated nonentomologists.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas