herpetology
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of herpetology
1815–25; < Greek herpetó ( n ) a creeping thing (Compare hérpein to creep) + -logy; cf. serpent
Explanation
Herpetology is the scientific study of reptiles and amphibians. If you're fascinated by frogs and crazy about crocodiles, you might want to learn more about herpetology. The field of zoology is divided into specialties for studying different types of animals. There's ornithology for birds, entomology for insects — and herpetology, which focuses on creeping and slithering animals like toads, salamanders, snakes, turtles, alligators, and newts. Herpetology comes from the Greek herpeton, "reptile," or literally "creeping thing," and its root, herpein, "to creep."
Vocabulary lists containing herpetology
2015 Spelling Bee - Words from Round 2
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Animals (Zoology) - Middle School
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Animals (Zoology) - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Mr. Wells had first upended the field of taxonomy in the early 1980s, when he fell afoul of the Australian Museum and Hal Cogger, then a herpetology curator there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
A serpent might slither out during the winter if there’s a warm spell to get a bit of sunshine, said Greg Pauly, curator of herpetology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
Unable to match it to a known species, he described it as new using only the photograph of a specimen housed in the University of Kansas herpetology collection.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 6, 2026
“It’s a remarkably weird thing,” said David Blackburn, the curator of herpetology at the Florida Museum and author of the study.
From New York Times ● Oct. 17, 2023
In the fourth grade he started a herpetology club, for anyone interested in toads, frogs, snakes, and various other amphibians and reptiles.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
