-ology and -ologist: Naming Fields of Study

Read and build the names of academic disciplines and the people who practice them.

The suffix -ology comes from Greek logos, which meant 'word,' 'reason,' or 'account. ' Attached to a root, it names a field of study: biology (life), geology (earth), psychology (mind), sociology (society), ecology (household or environment, from oikos, 'house'). Add -ist and you name the person: biologist, geologist, ecologist. Add -ical and you get the adjective: biological, ecological. Worked example: 'The paleontologist dated the fossil. ' Paleo means old or ancient, onto refers to being, and -ologist names the expert.

A paleontologist studies ancient life, which explains why she is handling a fossil. Be careful with look-alikes. 'Entomology' is the study of insects (Greek entomon), while 'etymology' is the study of word origins (Greek etymon, 'true sense'). One letter changes the whole field.

• 1-ology names a field of study, from Greek logos.
• 2-ologist names the expert; -ological forms the adjective.
• 3Look-alikes such as entomology and etymology differ in their roots.