ethnologist

American  

[eth-nah-luhj-ist] / ɛθˈnɑ lədʒ ɪst /

noun

1. a person who studies ethnology.

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Explanation

A scientist who compares the way different human societies and cultures function is an ethnologist. An ethnologist is sometimes called a cultural anthropologist. An ethnologist is an anthropologist who specializes in studying data about the way different groups of people live, and then comparing and contrasting this information. By looking at the religious beliefs, languages, and social norms of various cultures, ethnologists can discover the things we all have in common. The ultimate goal of this work is to better understand humanity. The Greek root of ethnologist is ethnos, "people."

Example Sentences

Between the 1930s and the 1970s, German ethnologist Hans Himmelheber journeyed across Ivory Coast amassing a collection of ritual objects.

From Barron's • Jan. 16, 2026

In “Giraffe,” an ethnologist is tasked with inventorying an abandoned cottage in the Danish countryside: books, photos, journals.

From New York Times • Mar. 30, 2023

While Ernaux writes explicitly and vividly about herself, she does so as “an ethnologist of myself,” as she has put it.

From Washington Post • Oct. 7, 2022

Fuller’s friend Vilhjalmur Stefansson, an Arctic explorer and ethnologist, had introduced him to Alfred J. T. Taylor, a mechanical engineer from London who was interested in a license for sales overseas.

From Slate • Aug. 2, 2022

In the London Ethnological Journal, for which I am indebted to the kindness of its Editor, an able ethnologist and careful thinker, the reader will find a chronology of Genesis ably and elaborately examined.

From A Few Words About the Devil And Other Biographical Sketches and Essays by Bradlaugh, Charles