entomology

[ en-tuh-mol-uh-jee ]
/ ˌɛn təˈmɒl ə dʒi /

noun

the branch of zoology dealing with insects.

Origin of entomology

First recorded in 1760–70; entomo- + -logy

OTHER WORDS FROM entomology

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH entomology

entomology etymology

Words nearby entomology

entomion, entomo-, entomofauna, entomol., entomologize, entomology, entomophagous, entomophilous, entomostracan, entophyte, entopic

Example sentences from the Web for entomology

British Dictionary definitions for entomology

entomology
/ (ˌɛntəˈmɒlədʒɪ) /

noun

the branch of science concerned with the study of insects

Derived forms of entomology

entomological (ˌɛntəməˈlɒdʒɪkəl) or entomologic, adjective entomologically, adverb entomologist, noun

Medical definitions for entomology

entomology
[ ĕn′tə-mŏl′ə-jē ]

n.

The study of insects.

Other words from entomology

en′to•mo•log′ic (-mə-lŏj′ĭk) null adj. en′to•mol′o•gist n.

Scientific definitions for entomology

entomology
[ ĕn′tə-mŏl′ə-jē ]

The scientific study of insects.

Word History

Scientists who study insects (there are close to a million that can be studied!) are called entomologists. Why are they not called “insectologists”? Well, in a way they are. The word insect comes from the Latin word insectum, meaning “cut up or divided into segments.” (The plural of insectum, namely insecta, is used by scientists as the name of the taxonomic class that insects belong to.) This Latin word was created in order to translate the Greek word for “insect,” which is entomon. This Greek word also literally means “cut up or divided into segments,” and it is the source of the word entomology. The Greeks had coined this term for insects because of the clear division of insect bodies into three segments, now called the head, thorax, and abdomen.