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Learn more about " Logy"
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-logy
-logy is a suffix in the English language, used with words originally adapted from Ancient Greek language ending in ''wiktionary:-λογία|-λογία'' (''-logia''). The earliest English examples were anglicizations of the French language|French ''wiktionary:-logie|-logie'', which was in turn inherited from the Latin language|Latin ''wiktionary:-logia|-logia''.[ "-logy." ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'', Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. retrieved 20 Aug. 2008.]
It has two main senses in English:[ "-logy." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. retrieved 20 Aug. 2008.]
- a combining form used in the names of sciences or bodies of knowledge (e.g. ''theology'' or ''sociology'')
- the root word nouns that refer to kinds of speech, writing or collections of writing (e.g. ''eulogy'' or ''trilogy'')
Etymology
In words of the type ''theology'', the suffix is derived originally from (''-log-'') (a variant of , ''-leg-''), from the Ancient Greek|Greek verb (''legein'', "to speak").["-logy." ''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology''. Oxford University Press, 1986. retrieved 20 Aug 2008.] The suffix has the sense of "the character or department of one who speaks or treats of certain subject", or more succinctly, "the study of certain subject".[ "-logy." ''Online Etymology Dictionary''. retrieved 20 Aug. 2008]
In words of the type ''trilogy'', the "-logy" element is derived from the Greek noun (''logos'', "speech").["-logy." ''The Oxford English Dictionary'', Second Edition. Oxford University Press, 1989. retrieved 20 Aug 2008.]
-logy versus -ology
In English language|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''. [Eric Partridge, ''Origins'', 2nd edition,New York, Macmillan, 1959] In these Greek words, the root (linguistics)|root is always a noun and ''-o-'' is the thematic vowel|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: ''analogy'', ''dekalogy'', ''disanalogy'', ''genealogy'', ''genethlialogy'', ''herbalogy'' (a variant of ''herbology''), ''idealogy'', ''mammalogy'', ''mineralogy'', ''paralogy'', ''pentalogy'', ''petralogy'' (a variant of ''petrology''), ''tetralogy''; ''elogy''; ''antilogy'', ''festilogy'', ''trilogy''; ''palillogy'', ''pyroballogy''; ''dyslogy''; ''eulogy''; and ''brachylogy''.Additional usage as a suffix
Per metonymy, words ending in ''-logy'' are sometimes used to describe a subject rather than the study of it (e.g. ''technology''). This usage is particularly widespread in medicine; for example, ''pathology'' 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 (journal)|Ecology'').
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", ''Wikiology'' as "the study of Wikipedia"). As with other classical compounds, adding the suffix to a initial word-stem derived from Greek or Latin language|Latin 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").
See also
- Classical compound
- Suffixes
References
External links
- The famous British "ology" advertisement (Archived 2009-10-19)
- Ologies (a long list of fields of study, and a paragraph of exceptions at the bottom of the page)
- World Wide Words: Ologies and Isms
- Ologies and Isms
- Ologies and Graphys
Category:Greek suffixes|Logy
Related Images
Sources: StartLearningNow, Wikipedia | Usage license: GNU FDL
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