ethology
noun
ethol·o·gy ē-ˈthä-lə-jē 
1
: a branch of knowledge dealing with human character and with its formation and evolution
2
: the scientific and objective study of animal behavior especially under natural conditions
ethological
ˌē-thə-ˈlä-ji-kəl
adjective ˌe-thə-
ethologist
ē-ˈthä-lə-jist
noun 
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web This, the squishy and contentious realm of comparative psychology and cognitive ethology, asks such questions as: Do dogs experience jealousy? 
Sadie Dingfelder, Washington Post, 1 July 2022 Until the publication of the first modern ethology textbook (The Study of Instinct, by Nikolaas Tinbergen) in 1951, however, field work wasn’t an important part of zoology. Stephen Armstrong, Wired, 2 Dec. 2021 Many of Tinbergen’s students ended up working for the NHU helping create a new kind of wildlife television—ethology in action. Stephen Armstrong, Wired, 2 Dec. 2021 Konrad Lorenz, a Nobel Prize-winning biologist from Austria, formalized the study of animal behavior, or ethology, in the middle of the twentieth century. Ben Crair, The New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2021 In contrast to behaviorism, which asserts that animal behavior can be explained in terms of incentives, rewards, and punishments, ethology posits that animals are innately intelligent, rather than simply programmable. Lauren Markham, Harper's Magazine, 16 Mar. 2021 De Waal is a specialist in ethology, the biological study of animal behavior, a field that emerged in the 1930s. Lauren Markham, Harper's Magazine, 16 Mar. 2021 Ethograms, a kind of specialized inventory, are traditionally intended for observing nonhuman primate groups in the field of ethology, the study of an evolution of a species. Orly Nadell Farber, STAT, 2 July 2018 Below are links to three groups that are involved with the environment, research, or both:• IPBio – Biodiversity Research Institute focuses on the biodiversity, ecology, and ethology of the fauna and flora in Brazilian ecosystems. Tibor Krausz, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Apr. 2018 See More
Sadie Dingfelder, Washington Post, 1 July 2022 Until the publication of the first modern ethology textbook (The Study of Instinct, by Nikolaas Tinbergen) in 1951, however, field work wasn’t an important part of zoology. Stephen Armstrong, Wired, 2 Dec. 2021 Many of Tinbergen’s students ended up working for the NHU helping create a new kind of wildlife television—ethology in action. Stephen Armstrong, Wired, 2 Dec. 2021 Konrad Lorenz, a Nobel Prize-winning biologist from Austria, formalized the study of animal behavior, or ethology, in the middle of the twentieth century. Ben Crair, The New Yorker, 21 Sep. 2021 In contrast to behaviorism, which asserts that animal behavior can be explained in terms of incentives, rewards, and punishments, ethology posits that animals are innately intelligent, rather than simply programmable. Lauren Markham, Harper's Magazine, 16 Mar. 2021 De Waal is a specialist in ethology, the biological study of animal behavior, a field that emerged in the 1930s. Lauren Markham, Harper's Magazine, 16 Mar. 2021 Ethograms, a kind of specialized inventory, are traditionally intended for observing nonhuman primate groups in the field of ethology, the study of an evolution of a species. Orly Nadell Farber, STAT, 2 July 2018 Below are links to three groups that are involved with the environment, research, or both:• IPBio – Biodiversity Research Institute focuses on the biodiversity, ecology, and ethology of the fauna and flora in Brazilian ecosystems. Tibor Krausz, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Apr. 2018 See More Word History
Etymology
Greek ethos + English -logy
First Known Use
1843, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Medical Definition
ethology
noun
ethol·o·gy ē-ˈthäl-ə-jē
plural ethologies
: the scientific and objective study of animal behavior especially under natural conditions