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ethology

[ ee-thol-uh-jee, ih-thol- ]

noun

  1. the study of animal behavior with emphasis on the behavioral patterns that occur in natural environments.


ethology

/ ˌɛθəˈlɒdʒɪkəl; ɪˈθɒlədʒɪ /

noun

  1. the study of the behaviour of animals in their normal environment
“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


ethology

/ ĭ-thŏlə-jē,ē-thŏl- /

  1. The scientific study of animal behavior, especially as it occurs in a natural environment.


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Derived Forms

  • ˌethoˈlogically, adverb
  • ethological, adjective
  • eˈthologist, noun
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Other Words From

  • e·tho·log·i·cal [ee-th, uh, -, loj, -i-k, uh, l, eth-, uh, -], adjective
  • etho·logi·cal·ly adverb
  • e·tholo·gist noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of ethology1

1895–1900; earlier, as the study of relations between an organism and its environment < French éthologie, coined by French zoologist I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (1805–61); ethos, -logy
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Word History and Origins

Origin of ethology1

C17 (in the obsolete sense: mimicry): via Latin from Greek ēthologia, from ēthos character; current sense, C19
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Example Sentences

This, the squishy and contentious realm of comparative psychology and cognitive ethology, asks such questions as: Do dogs experience jealousy?

If it is spontaneous, the research around the ethology for canines could get really interesting.

From Salon

Several research fields chart the behaviour of non-human animals, including comparative psychology, ethology, behavioural ecology, evolutionary biology and conservation science.

From Nature

King traces references to ethology, meteorology, marine microbiota and the oceans to Melville’s sailing experience in the Pacific and wranglings with the works of scientists William Scoresby, Louis Agassiz and others.

From Nature

His mentor was Nobel Laureate Niko Tinbergen, whose studies of herring gulls in the Netherlands helped lay the foundation for the field of ethology, or animal behavior.

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