Etymology
The word ology is a back-formation from the names of these disciplines. Such words are formed from Greek or Latin roots with the terminal -logy derived from the Greek suffix -λογια (-logia), speaking, from λεγειν (legein), to speak. The word ology is thus misleading as the 'o' is actually part of the word stem that receives the -logy ending. For example, the bio part of biology stems from Greek βιος (bios), life. This is why some of the words do not end in -ology (such as mineralogy).
It should also be pointed out that some words mean to study something, but aren't called ologies -- midwifery is one example.
A famous British television commercial of the 1980s has a Jewish student phoning his grandmother to confirm his exam results. He is disappointed that he has only passed Sociology, but his grandmother will have none of it. "Anthony," she insists, "if you get an ology, you're a scientist!"
Words ending in -ology that are not fields of study, and thus not "ologies" in the sense of this article, are:
Other words ending in ology
Not all words ending in -ology are ologies in the above sense. In some words such as tautology and haplology, the -logy suffix is from the Greek λογοσ, word, and denotes not a field of study but a type of speech or writing. For example, haplology means the mistake of saying one letter, syllable or word when two or more are required, as in the example of pronouncing the word "February" somewhat like "Febuary".Usage
Although technically incorrect, "-ology" is sometimes used to describe a subject rather than the study of it. Technology is a typical example. This usage is also widespread in medicine; for example, pathology is often used for specific disease ("We have not found the pathology yet").
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZA listing of ologies
A
B
C
D
E
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
R
S
T
U
V
X
Z
Ologies that are not fields of study
See also
External links