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

ethology

/ ĭ-thŏl′ə-jē,ē-thŏl′- /

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

Derived Forms

• ˌethoˈlogically, adverb
• ethological, adjective
• eˈthologist, noun

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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of ethology¹

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

Example Sentences

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

From Washington Post

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.

From Seattle Times