ekistics

American

[ih-kis-tiks] / ɪˈkɪs tɪks /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

the scientific study of human settlements, drawing on diverse disciplines, including architecture, city planning, and behavioral science.

ekistics British

/ ɪˈkɪstɪks /

noun

(functioning as singular) the science or study of human settlements

"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

Other Word Forms

ekistic adjective
ekistician noun

Etymology

Origin of ekistics

1955–60; coined by Constantine A. Doxiadus (1913–1975), Greek urbanologist, ultimately < Greek oikistikōs, derivative of oikisía settlement, derivative of oîkos house; -ics

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Beyond that, Doxiadis was something of an oracle, the inventor and tireless promoter of ekistics, which he defined as the science of human settlements.

From Time Magazine Archive

Among the most grandiose are those advanced by Constantinos Apostolos Doxiadis, 56, inventor and prophet of "ekistics," meaning the science of human settlements.

From Time Magazine Archive

A better stimulator of ideas than he is a designer, he is also a tireless preacher of the notion that ekistics must include many different disciplines.

From Time Magazine Archive

Doxiadis invariably supplied the framework for those discussions: ekistics.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023