scatology

[skuh-tol-uh-jee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR scatology ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

the study of or preoccupation with excrement or obscenity.

obscenity, especially words or humor referring to excrement.

the study of fossil excrement.

Origin of scatology

First recorded in 1875–80; scato- + -logy

Also called coprology.

Related formsscat·o·log·i·cal

[skat-l-oj-i-kuh l] /ˌskæt lˈɒdʒ ɪ kəl/, scat·o·log·ic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for scatology

indecency, impropriety, vulgarity, abomination, ribaldry, prurience, pornography, offense, dirtiness, curse, filth, impurity, swearword, outrage, filthiness, dirt, smut, evil, blight, wrong

British Dictionary definitions for scatology

scatology

noun

the scientific study of excrement, esp in medicine for diagnostic purposes, and in palaeontology of fossilized excrement

obscenity or preoccupation with obscenity, esp in the form of references to excrement

Derived Formsscatologist, 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

Word Origin and History for scatology

"obscene literature," 1876, with -logy "treatise, study" + Greek skat-, stem of skor (genitive skatos) "excrement," from PIE *sker- "excrement, dung" (cf. Latin stercus "dung"), literally "to cut off;" see shear (v.), and cf. shit (v.). Related: Scatological (1886).

scatology in Medicine

scatology

[skă-tŏl′ə-jē]

n.

The study and analysis of feces for physiological and diagnostic purposes.coprology

An obsession with excrement or excretory functions.

The psychiatric study of such an obsession.

Related formsscat′o•log′i•cal (skăt′l-ŏj′ĭ-kəl) null adj.