ethnologist

American  

[eth-nah-luhj-ist] / ɛθˈnɑ lədʒ ɪst /

noun

1. a person who studies ethnology.

---

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

See Examples For:

ethnologist

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

Alessandro Lupo, an Italian ethnologist who has studied the voladores, ventured that the spectacular nature of the ritual allowed it to survive the Spanish.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2023

“New Year’s Eve is a culmination point for the tensions and all the divides in our society,” said Manuel Trummer, a comparative European ethnologist at the University of Regensburg.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 30, 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

Calabria offers an inviting field to the ethnologist.

From Essays in the Study of Folk-Songs (1886) by Martinengo-Cesaresco, Countess Evelyn