ethnology

American  

[eth-nol-uh-jee] / ɛθˈnɒl ə dʒi /

noun

1. a branch of anthropology that analyzes cultures, especially in regard to their historical development and the similarities and dissimilarities between them.

2. (formerly) a branch of cultural anthropology dealing with the origin, distribution, and distinguishing characteristics of human societies.

---

ethnology British  

/ ɛθˈnɒlədʒɪ, ˌɛθnəˈlɒdʒɪk /

noun

1. the branch of anthropology that deals with races and peoples, their relations to one another, their origins, and their distinctive characteristics

---

ethnology Cultural  

1. The study of contemporary cultures, in order to develop a theoretical framework for analyzing human society. Cultural anthropologists generally study societies by living among the people, observing, interviewing, and participating in their activities. More than simply describing the customs of these societies, anthropologists attempt to uncover underlying patterns and structures of cultural characteristics, such as language, mythology, gender roles, symbols (see also symbol), and rituals.

---

Other Word Forms

• ethnologic adjective
• ethnological adjective
• ethnologically adverb
• ethnologist noun

Etymology

Origin of ethnology

First recorded in 1835–45; ethno- + -logy

Compare meaning

How does ethnology compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• ethnography vs. ethnology

Example Sentences

Scrutinizing central African sculpture in Paris’s colonial ethnology museum, they’d learned to clarify bodies into pure geometry.

From New York Times

Thomas A. McKean, director of the Elphinstone Institute at the University of Aberdeen, a center for the study of folklore and ethnology, confirmed the death.

From New York Times

I emailed the collection manager of archaeology and ethnology in the Smithsonian's Department of Anthropology to ask about Sandy.

From Salon

After France was liberated, he returned to Paris as a teenager to attend secondary school, the Lycée Buffon, then enrolled at the Sorbonne in 1949, intending to study ethnology.

From New York Times

With about 147 million items, it is the world’s largest natural history collection and represents more than 90 percent of all Smithsonian holdings, covering archaeology, ethnology, art and science.

From Washington Post

Related Words

• civilization
• development
• folklore
• habit
• knowledge
• lifestyle
• society
• way of life