ornithology

[ awr-nuh-thol-uh-jee ]

/ ˌɔr nəˈθɒl ə dʒi /

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noun

the branch of zoology that deals with birds.

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Origin of ornithology

From the New Latin word ornithologia, dating back to 1645–55. See ornitho-, -logy

OTHER WORDS FROM ornithology

or·ni·tho·log·i·cal

[awr-nuh-thuh-loj-i-kuhl], /ˌɔr nə θəˈlɒdʒ ɪ kəl/, or·ni·tho·log·ic, adjectiveor·ni·tho·log·i·cal·ly, adverbor·ni·thol·o·gist, nounun·or·ni·tho·log·i·cal, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ornithology in a sentence

David Sibley became my ornithological guru, and I did follow him into the field.
Book Bag: Terry Tempest Williams’s Birding Bibles|Terry Tempest Williams|March 27, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The ornithological notes, however, supplied by Mr. Gallienne are of considerable interest, and are generally pretty reliable.
Birds of Guernsey (1879)|Cecil Smith
So, along with all the rest of the harmony-killers, I am saddled for life with this ornithological incubus.
Bizarre|Lawton Mackall
His Journals are full of other observations, ethnographical, ornithological, and entomological.
Makers of British Botany; a collection of biographies by living botanists|Various

When one has learned to note and discriminate the Warblers, he has made a good beginning in his or her ornithological studies.
Bird Lore, Volume I--1899|Various
As the official organ of the Union, 'The Auk' is the leading ornithological publication of this country.
Bird Lore, Volume I--1899|Various

British Dictionary definitions for ornithology

ornithology

/ (ˌɔːnɪˈθɒlədʒɪ) /

noun

the study of birds, including their physiology, classification, ecology, and behaviour

Derived forms of ornithology

ornithological (ˌɔːnɪθəˈlɒdʒɪkəl), adjectiveornithologically, adverbornithologist, noun

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 ornithology

ornithology

[ ôr′nə-thŏl′ə-jē ]

The scientific study of birds.