geognosy

American  

[jee-og-nuh-see] / dʒiˈɒg nə si /

noun

1. Archaic. a science dealing with the constituent parts of the earth, its envelope of air and water, its crust, and the condition of its interior.

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geognosy British  

/ dʒɪˈɒɡnəsɪ /

noun

1. the study of the origin and distribution of minerals and rocks in the earth's crust: superseded generally by the term geology

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Other Word Forms

• geognostic
  adjective
• geognostical
  adjective
• geognostically
  adverb

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Etymology

Origin of geognosy

1785–95; < French géognosie, equivalent to géo- geo- + -gnosie < Greek gnôsis knowledge

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

geognosy

Knowledge of science, too, was only just beginning; botany, geology, and geognosy were very slightly diffused; glacier theories were undreamt of.

From The Development of the Feeling for Nature in the Middle Ages and Modern Times by Alfred Biese

We may here appropriately notice a remarkable feature in the geognosy of the earth's surface from Lake Huron to the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

From The Falls of Niagara and Other Famous Cataracts by George W. Holley

Second, all of my life I have made a profound study of geognosy and geotectonic geology.

From The Desert Valley by Jackson Gregory

Seale, Mr., geognosy of St. Helena. -on dikes. -on embedded birds' bones.

From Volcanic Islands by Charles Darwin

Modern geognosy, the mineral portion of terrestrial physics, has made no slight advance in having investigated this connection of phenomena.

From COSMOS: A Sketch of the Physical Description of the Universe, Vol. 1 by Alexander von Humboldt

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