ethology

[ ee-thol-uh-jee, ih-thol- ]

/ iˈθɒl ə dʒi, ɪˈθɒl- /

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See synonyms for: ethological on Thesaurus.com

noun

the study of animal behavior with emphasis on the behavioral patterns that occur in natural environments.

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Origin of ethology

1895–1900; earlier, as the study of relations between an organism and its environment <French éthologie, coined by French zoologist I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1805–61); see ethos, -logy

OTHER WORDS FROM ethology

e·tho·log·i·cal

[ee-thuh-loj-i-kuhl, eth-uh-], /ˌi θəˈlɒdʒ ɪ kəl, ˌɛθ ə-/, adjectivee·tho·log·i·cal·ly, adverbe·thol·o·gist, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use ethology in a sentence

The only check or corrective is, constant verification by psychological and ethological laws.
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive|John Stuart Mill
There has been an increasing awareness of the importance of ethological data and of their usefulness in systematics.
Comparative Breeding Behavior of Ammospiza caudacuta and A. maritima|Glen E. Woolfenden
In the foregoing I have discussed the ethological relations of ants to a variety of other organisms.
Introduction to the Science of Sociology|Robert E. Park

British Dictionary definitions for ethology

ethology

/ (ɪˈθɒlədʒɪ) /

noun

the study of the behaviour of animals in their normal environment

Derived forms of ethology

ethological (ˌɛθəˈlɒdʒɪkəl), adjectiveethologically, adverbethologist, noun

Word Origin for ethology

C17 (in the obsolete sense: mimicry): via Latin from Greek ēthologia, from ēthos character; current sense, C19

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for ethology

ethology

[ ĭ-thŏl′ə-jē, ē-thŏl′- ]

The scientific study of animal behavior, especially as it occurs in a natural environment.