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''-logy'' is a suffix in the English language, used with words originally adapted from
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
ending in ('). The earliest English examples were anglicizations of the French '' -logie'', which was in turn inherited from the
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
'' -logia''. The suffix became productive in English from the 18th century, allowing the formation of new terms with no Latin or Greek precedent. The English suffix has two separate main senses, reflecting two sources of the suffix in Greek: *a combining form used in the names of school or bodies of knowledge, e.g., ''
theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
'' (loaned from Latin in the 14th century) or ''
sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...
''. In words of the type ''
theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...
'', the suffix is derived originally from (''-log-'') (a variant of , ''-leg-''), from the Greek verb (''legein'', 'to speak')."-logy." ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology''. Oxford University Press, 1986. retrieved 20 August 2008. The suffix has the sense of "the character or deportment of one who speaks or treats of certain subject, or more succinctly, "the study of certain subject. (The Ancient Greek noun ' mentioned below can also be translated, among other things, as "subject matter".) *the root word nouns that refer to kinds of speech, writing or collections of writing, e.g., '' eulogy'' or ''
trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...
''. In words of this type, the "-logy" element is derived from the Greek noun ('' logos'', 'speech', 'account', 'story'). The suffix has the sense of " certain kind ofspeaking or writing"."-logy." ''The Oxford English Dictionary'', Second Edition. Oxford University Press, 1989. retrieved 20 August 2008.
Philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...
is an exception: while its meaning is closer to the first sense, the etymology of the word is similar to the second sense.


-logy versus -ology

In English names for fields of study, the suffix ''-logy'' is most frequently found preceded by the euphonic connective vowel ''o'' so that the word ends in ''-ology''. In these Greek words, the root is always a noun and ''-o-'' is the combining vowel for all declensions of Greek nouns. However, when new names for fields of study are coined in modern English, the formations ending in ''-logy'' almost always add an ''-o-'', except when the root word ends in an "l" or a vowel, as in these exceptions:Words Ending In ogy : Words Ending With ogy
/ref> '' analogy'', ''dekalogy'', ''disanalogy'', ''
genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...
'', '' genethlialogy'', '' hexalogy''; ''herbalogy'' (a variant of '' herbology''), '' mammalogy'', ''
mineralogy Mineralogy is a subject of geology specializing in the scientific study of the chemistry, crystal structure, and physical (including optical mineralogy, optical) properties of minerals and mineralized artifact (archaeology), artifacts. Specific s ...
'', '' paralogy'', ''petralogy'' (a variant of '' petrology''); '' elogy'';
heptalogy Series fiction refers to a group of independently published works of fiction that are related to one another, usually through similar elements of setting and Fictional character, characters. A common example of series fiction is a book series. Seri ...
; '' antilogy'', '' festilogy''; ''
trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...
'', '' tetralogy'', '' pentalogy''; '' palillogy'', '' pyroballogy''; '' dyslogy''; '' eulogy''; and '' brachylogy''. Linguists sometimes jokingly refer to haplology as ''haplogy'' (subjecting the word ''haplology'' to the process of haplology itself).


Additional usage as a suffix

Per
metonymy Metonymy () is a figure of speech in which a concept is referred to by the name of something associated with that thing or concept. For example, the word " suit" may refer to a person from groups commonly wearing business attire, such as sales ...
, words ending in ''-logy'' are sometimes used to describe a subject rather than the study of it (e.g., ''
technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...
''). This usage is particularly widespread in medicine; for example, ''
pathology Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...
'' is often used simply to refer to "the disease" itself (e.g., "We haven't found the pathology yet") rather than "the study of a disease". Books, journals, and treatises about a subject also often bear the name of this subject (e.g., the scientific journal ''
Ecology Ecology () is the natural science of the relationships among living organisms and their Natural environment, environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community (ecology), community, ecosystem, and biosphere lev ...
''). When appended to other English words, the suffix can also be used humorously to create nonce words (e.g., '' beerology'' as "the study of beer"). As with other classical compounds, adding the suffix to an initial word-stem derived from Greek or
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
may be used to lend grandeur or the impression of scientific rigor to humble pursuits, as in ''cosmetology'' ("the study of beauty treatment") or ''cynology'' ("the study of dog training").


Compound series of works of art

The -logy or -ology suffix is commonly used to indicate finite series of art works like books or movies. For paintings, the "tych" suffix is more common (e.g. diptych, triptych). Examples include: *
Trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...
for three works * Tetralogy for four works * Pentalogy for five works * Hexalogy for six works *
Heptalogy Series fiction refers to a group of independently published works of fiction that are related to one another, usually through similar elements of setting and Fictional character, characters. A common example of series fiction is a book series. Seri ...
for seven works Further terms like duology (two, mostly in
genre fiction In the book-trade, genre fiction, also known as formula fiction, or commercial fiction,Girolimon, Mars"Types of Genres: A Literary Guide" Southern New Hampshire University, 11 December 2023. Retrieved 3 September 2024. encompasses fictional ...
) quadrilogy (four) and octalogy (eight) have been coined but are rarely used: for a series of 10, sometimes "decalog" is used (e.g. in the Virgin Decalog) instead of "decalogy".


See also

* List of words ending in ology * Classical compound * Suffixes


References


External links


The famous British "ology" advertisement
(a long list of fields of study, and a paragraph of exceptions at the bottom of the page)
Ology Words
It provides list of A–Z English words ending with the suffix -ology and their field of study
Ologies and Isms
* Ologies – Wikiversity {{DEFAULTSORT:-Logy Logy Logy