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Definition of Phrenology - 7 dictionary results

phre⋅nol⋅o⋅gy

  [fri-nol-uh-jee, fre-]
Use Phrenology in a Sentence
–noun
a psychological theory or analytical method based on the belief that certain mental faculties and character traits are indicated by the configurations of the skull.
Origin:
1795–1805, Americanism; phreno- + -logy

Related forms:
phren⋅o⋅log⋅ic  [fren-l-oj-ik] , phren⋅o⋅log⋅i⋅cal, adjective
phren⋅o⋅log⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
phre⋅nol⋅o⋅gist, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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phre·nol·o·gy   (frĭ-nŏl'ə-jē)   
n.  The study of the shape and protuberances of the skull, based on the now discredited belief that they reveal character and mental capacity.
phren'o·log'ic (frěn'ə-lŏj'ĭk, frē'nə-), phren'o·log'i·cal (-ĭ-kəl) adj., phre·nol'o·gist n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Phrenology

Phre*nol"o*gy\, n. [Gr. ?, ?, the mind + -logy: cf. F. phr['e]nologie.]

1. The science of the special functions of the several parts of the brain, or of the supposed connection between the various faculties of the mind and particular organs in the brain.

2. In popular usage, the physiological hypothesis of Gall, that the mental faculties, and traits of character, are shown on the surface of the head or skull; craniology.

Note: Gall marked out on his model of the head the places of twenty-six organs, as round inclosures with vacant interspaces. Spurzheim and Combe divided the whole scalp into oblong and conterminous patches. --Encyc. Brit.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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phrenology 
1815, from Gk., lit. "mental science," from phren (gen. phrenos) "mind" + -logy "study of." Applied to the theory of mental faculties originated by Gall and Spurzheim that led to the 1840s mania for reading personality clues in the shape of one's skull and the "bumps" of the head.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: phre·nol·o·gy
Pronunciation: fri-'näl-&-jE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -gies
: thestudy of the conformation of the skull based on the belief that it is indicative of mental faculties and character
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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phrenology phre·nol·o·gy (frĭ-nŏl'ə-jē)
n.
The study of the shape and protuberances of the skull, based on the now discredited belief that they reveal character and mental capacity.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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phrenology   (frĭ-nŏl'ə-jē)  Pronunciation Key 
The study of the shape of the skull as a means of determining character and intelligence. Phrenology has been disproven as a science.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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