entomology
[ en-tuh-mol-uh-jee ]
noun
the branch of zoology dealing with insects.
Origin of entomology
1Other words from entomology
- en·to·mo·log·i·cal [en-tuh-muh-loj-i-kuhl], /ˌɛn tə məˈlɒdʒ ɪ kəl/, en·to·mo·log·ic, adjective
- en·to·mo·log·i·cal·ly, adverb
- en·to·mol·o·gist, noun
- non·en·to·mo·log·ic, adjective
- non·en·to·mo·log·i·cal, adjective
- un·en·to·mo·log·i·cal, adjective
Words that may be confused with entomology
- entomology , etymology
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use entomology in a sentence
It is advisable to have at least four specimens of a species, which, entomologically speaking, constitute a set.
Directions for Collecting and Preserving Insects | C. V. Riley
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
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 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.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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