entomology

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌɛntəˈmɒlədʒi/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French entomologie,^[2][3][4] from New Latin entomologia,^[2][5] coined from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (éntomon, “insect”) and -logie “study of”.^[2][3][4][5] Éntomon is the neuter of éntomos “cut up, notched”,^[2][3][4] from en- “in” and témnein “to cut”,^[3][4] because Aristotle named insects for the segmented division of their bodies.^[2][3] The Latin loan translation of the Greek word gave insect.^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The branch of natural history dealing with insects (1764 in Etymonline; 1766 in the OED, Barnhart and Merriam-Webster).^[3][6][2][4]

Semantic evolution

The French word was coined in 1764.^[3] A rival hybrid insectology (from French insectologie) was used in 1766 by Charles Bonnet's English translator, who admitted that entomology would have been more suitable but found its sound barbarous;^[3] insectology did not catch on.^[3]

Timeline

• 1764 – French entomologie.^[3]
• 1766 – the study of insects.^[6][2][4]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The branch of zoology that studies insects, and sometimes other arthropods.

Word family

• entomologic
• entomologically
• entomologist
• entomological

Related words

• entomo-
• entomofauna
• entomophagous
• entomophagy
• entomophilous
• insect
• anatomy
• tome

Usage notes

Not to be confused with etymology, the study of word origins.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Harper, Douglas, Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press