zoology, n.

zoology
http://www.oed.com/dictionary/zoology_n%3Ftab%3Dmeaning_and_use
Revised 2017

# zoologynoun

## Earlier version

- zoology in OED Second Edition (1989)

## Factsheet

### What does the noun zoology mean?

There are three meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun zoology. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

zoology has developed meanings and uses in subjects including

animals (mid 1600s) physiology (mid 1600s)

### How common is the noun zoology?

About 0.8occurrences per million words in modern written English

1750 | 0.21
1760 | 0.21
1770 | 0.2
1780 | 0.28
1790 | 0.29
1800 | 0.38
1810 | 0.56
1820 | 0.67
1830 | 0.79
1840 | 0.85
1850 | 0.96
1860 | 0.98
1870 | 1.1
1880 | 1.3
1890 | 1.4
1900 | 1.5
1910 | 1.5
1920 | 1.5
1930 | 1.4
1940 | 1.4
1950 | 1.3
1960 | 1.1
1970 | 0.99
1980 | 0.85
1990 | 0.72
2000 | 0.66
2010 | 0.61

### How is the noun zoology pronounced?

#### British English

/zuːˈɒlədʒi/
zoo-OL-uh-jee
/zəʊˈɒlədʒi/
zoh-OL-uh-jee

#### U.S. English

/zuˈɑlədʒi/
zoo-AH-luh-jee
/zoʊˈɑlədʒi/
zoh-AH-luh-jee

### Where does the noun zoology come from?

Earliest known use

mid 1600s

The earliest known use of the noun zoology is in the mid 1600s.

OED's earliest evidence for zoology is from 1663, in the writing of Robert Boyle, natural philosopher.

zoology is a borrowing from Latin.

Etymons: Latin zoologia.

### Nearby entries

1. zoologer, n. 1663–
2. zoologic, adj. 1766–
3. zoological, adj. & n. 1686–
4. zoological garden, n. 1827–
5. zoologically, adv. 1799–
6. zoologico-, comb. form
7. zoologico-archaeologist, n. 1864
8. zoologist, n. 1663–
9. zoologize, v. 1830–
10. zoologizing, n. 1815–
11. zoology, n.1663–
12. zoom, n. 1917–
13. zoom, v.¹ 1886–
14. Zoom, v.² 2014–
15. zoom, int. 1856–
16. zoomable, adj. 1972–
17. zoomagnetism, n. 1824–
18. zooman, n. 1871–
19. zoomancy, n. 1888–
20. zoomania, n. 1807–
21. zoomantist, n. 1861

## Etymology

### Summary

A borrowing from Latin.
Etymon: Latin zoologia.
< post-classical Latin zoologia science of animals (1630; frequently from 1632 in work titles; in early use sometimes in Greek characters) < zoo- zoo- comb. form + ‑logia ‑logy comb. form.

Compare French zoologie (mid 18th…
< post-classical Latin zoologia science of animals (1630; frequently from 1632 in work titles; in early use sometimes in Greek characters) < zoo- zoo- comb. form + ‑logia ‑logy comb. form.

Compare French zoologie (mid 18th cent.).

### Notes

Semantic development of the noun
In English contexts, the post-classical Latin word is attested slightly earlier than the English word, specifically to denote that part of medical science which treats of the medicines or remedies obtainable from animals, e.g. in Ζωολογια: or the History of Animals, as they are useful in physick and chirurgery (1659), the title of T. Bateson's translation of the fifth book of J. Schröder Pharmacopoeia medico-chymica (1641), the work also translated in quot. 1669 at sense 1. In J. Sperling Zoologia physica (1661) a distinction is made between zoologia medica and zoologia sacra, the former concerning animals as a source of medicines, the latter studying them from a theological point of view, aiming at giving glory to God and at improving one's conduct.
The sense first recorded in dictionaries of English is ‘a treatise concerning living creatures’ (see quot. 1724 at sense 2), which is still the only one in Todd's 1818 edition of Johnson.
Pronunciation
The pronunciation in /zuː-/ is influenced by the very common clipping zoo n. It has often been criticized by usage guides (New English Dictionary (OED first edition) (1921) gave /zəu-/ preference over /zuː-/ and labelled the latter ‘popular’), but is now as common as that in /zəu-/ (and much more common in British usage than in U.S. usage).

## Meaning & use

1. 1.
   1663–
   The branch of natural history or biology dealing with animals; the scientific study of the morphology, classification, physiology, behaviour, and distribution of animals or (with distinguishing word) of a specific group of animals.
   In quot. 1669: †a branch of medical science dealing with medicines derived from animals (obsolete).
   marine zoology: see the first element.
   1. 1663

      > Of the use of Zoology to the Knowledg of Diseases.

      R. Boyle, Some Considerations Usefulnesse Experimental Natural Philosophy ii. Index sig. fff3/2
   2. 1669

      > Zoology [Latin Zoologia] is a Part of Pharmacy, that shews what Medicines are to be taken from Animals.

      W. Rowland, translation of J. Schroeder, Compl. Chymical Dispensatory v. 506/1
   3. 1678

      > And Mr. Ralph Johnson.., a Person of singular skill in Zoology, especially the History of Birds,..communicated to us his Method of Birds.

      J. Ray in translation of F. Willughby, Ornithology Preface sig. (a)
   4. 1717

      > Be dere any secret in the Hydrology, Zoology, Minerology, Hydraulicks, Acausticks, Pneumaticks, Logarithmatechny, dat you do want de Explanation of?

      J. Gay, Three Hours after Marriage ii. 41
   5. 1787

      > In the study of Zoology the subject of Comparative Anatomy deserves particular attention.

      R. Kentish, Ess. Method of studying Natural History 108
   6. 1802

      > But as mineralogy is a far more difficult science than zoölogy or botany, it was to be expected that it should be the last in the progression of the three natural kingdoms.

      Critical Review February 121
   7. 1874

      > John Ray was the first to raise zoology to the rank of a science.

      J. R. Green, Short History of English People ix. §1. 599
   8. 1940

      > The first task of a writer on invertebrate zoology is to discuss the main properties of animal protoplasm and to describe the organisation of the typical animal cell.

      G. S. Carter, General Zoology of Invertebrates p. v
   9. 1994

      > This may seem strange guidance, coming from a man who didn't believe in God, given to a son who wasn't glaringly devout and who had a more obvious calling in zoology.

      R. Wright, Moral Animal (1995) i. 21
   10. 2007

       > The detailed observation of animal grooming systems in zoology originated some forty years ago from small specialist studies.

       V. Smith, Clean i. 17
   animals physiology
   1. zoosophy 1662–1848
      The knowledge or study of animals; spec. (a) animal husbandry; (b) the branch of biology concerned with animals and their development; zoology.
   2. zoology 1663–
      The branch of natural history or biology dealing with animals; the scientific study of the morphology, classification, physiology, behaviour, and…
   View in Historical Thesaurus
2. 2.
   1724–
   A work dealing with the natural history or biology of animals; esp. a fauna (fauna n. 2). Occasionally also: †a system of zoology (obsolete).
   1. 1724

      > Zoology, a Treatise concerning living Creatures.

      N. Bailey, Universal Etymological English Dictionary (ed. 2)
   2. 1852

      > ‘Dogs bark’: this was erst of necessary matter; ‘dogs’ were then ‘all dogs’... Since an observation of the dogs of Labrador (I think), the proposition, as in our zoologies, so in our logics, has fallen to contingent matter.

      W. Hamilton, Discussions on Philosophy & Literature 158
   3. 1860

      > For figures of shells, with the live mollusk, I have resorted chiefly to the zoologies of exploring expeditions.

      L. Reeve, Elements Conchol. Preface p. v
   4. 1911

      > A book which is so praiseworthy in its recognition of the animal mind, kept by most ‘zoologies’ at a distance.

      Nature 11 May 340/2
   5. 2007

      > White had read Buffon's zoology, with its more heterodox speculations on the workings of nature.

      D. Donald, Picturing Animals in Britain i. 51/1
   animals
3. 3.
   1746–
   The animals of a specific region, geological period, etc.; = fauna n. 1.
   1. 1746

      > The Egyptian Zoology therefore, no less than that of the neighbouring Parts of Africa and Palestine, deserves to be further inquired into.

      T. Shaw, Suppl. to Trav. & Observ. vi. 73
   2. 1839

      > The zoology of Tierra del Fuego..is very poor... There is one bat, a mouse, [etc.].

      C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin, Narrative of Surveying Voyages H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle vol. III. xiii. 300
   3. 1882

      > The zoology of the continent varies in certain portions, which can be considered as Australian sub-provinces.

      J. E. Tenison-Woods, Natural History New South Wales 49
   4. 1910

      > The recognition..of this parallel with the Old World giraffes was a most interesting contribution to the Miocene zoölogy of America.

      H. F. Osborn, Age of Mammals 293
   5. 1991

      > His commission served as a convenient cover for his yearning to study the geology, geography, and zoology of Russia's vast interior.

      S. J. Gould, Bully for Brontosaurus xxii. 337
   6. 2004

      > Hodgson was fully aware of the excellence of his artists' work and pointed this out in his letters and public announcements about his proposed book on the zoology of Nepal.

      A. Datta & C. Inskipp in D. M. Waterhouse, Origins Himalayan Studies 138
   animals
   1. zoology 1746–
      The animals of a specific region, geological period, etc.; = fauna, n. 1.
   2. fauna 1771–
      A collective term for the animals or animal life of any particular region or epoch.
   View in Historical Thesaurus

## Pronunciation

### British English

/zuːˈɒlədʒi/
zoo-OL-uh-jee
/zəʊˈɒlədʒi/
zoh-OL-uh-jee

### U.S. English

/zuˈɑlədʒi/
zoo-AH-luh-jee
/zoʊˈɑlədʒi/
zoh-AH-luh-jee

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- ɬrhingyll
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛtl/ but /ˈpɛtl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- iːfleece
- ihappy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- atrap, bath
- ɑːstart, palm, bath
- ɒlot
- ɔːthought, force
- ʌstrut
- ʊfoot
- uːgoose
- əletter
- əːnurse
- ɪənear
- ɛːsquare
- ʊəcure
- eɪface
- ʌɪpride
- aʊmouth
- əʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ãgratin
- ɒ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

##### Consonants

- ppea
- ttea
- kkey
- bbuy
- ddye*
- ɡguy
- tʃchore
- dʒjay
- ffore
- θthaw
- ssore
- ʃshore
- vvee
- ðthee
- zzee
- ʒbeige
- xloch
- hhay
- llay
- rray
- wway
- jyore
- mmay
- nnay
- ŋsing

* /d/ also represents a 'tapped' /t/ as in

Some consonants can take the function of the vowel in unstressed syllables. Where necessary, a syllabic marker diacritic is used, hence /ˈpɛd(ə)l/ but /ˈpɛdl̩i/.

##### Vowels

- ifleece, happy
- ɪkit
- ɛdress
- ætrap, bath
- ɑlot, palm, cloth, thought
- ɑrstart
- ɔcloth, thought
- ɔrnorth, force
- ʊfoot
- ugoose
- əstrut, comma
- ərnurse, letter
- ɪ(ə)rnear
- ɛ(ə)rsquare
- ʊ(ə)rcure
- eɪface
- aɪpride
- aʊmouth
- oʊgoat
- ɔɪvoice
- ɑ̃gratin
- æ̃salon
- ᵻ(/ɪ/-/ə/)
- ᵿ(/ʊ/-/ə/)

##### Other symbols

- The symbol ˈ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with primary stress.
- The symbol ˌ at the beginning of a syllable indicates that that syllable is pronounced with secondary stress.
- Round brackets ( ) in a transcription indicate that the symbol within the brackets is optional.

View the pronunciation model here.

####

Simple text respell breaks words into syllables, separated by a hyphen. The syllable which carries the primary stress is written in capital letters. This key covers both British and U.S. English Simple Text Respell.

##### Consonants

b, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, t, v, w and z have their standard English values

- gguy
- jjay
- yyore
- chchore
- khloch
- shshore
- ththaw
- dhthee
- zhbeige

##### Vowels

- atrap
- ahpalm
- airsquare
- arstart
- arrcarry (British only)
- awthought
- ayface
- a(ng)gratin
- edress
- eefleece
- eerdeer
- errmerry
- ikit
- ighpride
- irrmirror
- olot (British only)
- ohgoat
- oogoose
- oorcure
- orforce
- orrsorry (British only)
- owmouth
- oyvoice
- o(ng)salon
- ustrut
- uhletter
- urnurse
- urrhurry
- uufoot

## Forms

### Variant forms

1. 1600s–
   zoology
2. 1700s–1900s
   zoölogy
3. 1800s–1900s
   zöology

## Frequency

zoology typically occurs about 0.8 times per million words in modern written English.

zoology is in frequency band 4, which contains words occurring between 0.1 and 1 times per million words in modern written English. More about OED's frequency bands

Frequency data is computed programmatically, and should be regarded as an estimate.

### Frequency of zoology, n., 1750–2010

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Historical frequency series are derived from Google Books Ngrams (version 2), a data set based on the Google Books corpus of several million books printed in English between 1500 and 2010.

The overall frequency for a given word is calculated by summing frequencies for the main form of the word, any plural or inflected forms, and any major spelling variations.

For sets of homographs (distinct entries that share the same word-form, e.g. mole, n.¹, mole, n.², mole, n.³, etc.), we have estimated the frequency of each homograph entry as a fraction of the total Ngrams frequency for the word-form. This may result in inaccuracies.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the Google Books corpus.

Decade | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
1750 | 0.21
1760 | 0.21
1770 | 0.2
1780 | 0.28
1790 | 0.29
1800 | 0.38
1810 | 0.56
1820 | 0.67
1830 | 0.79
1840 | 0.85
1850 | 0.96
1860 | 0.98
1870 | 1.1
1880 | 1.3
1890 | 1.4
1900 | 1.5
1910 | 1.5
1920 | 1.5
1930 | 1.4
1940 | 1.4
1950 | 1.3
1960 | 1.1
1970 | 0.99
1980 | 0.85
1990 | 0.72
2000 | 0.66
2010 | 0.61

### Frequency of zoology, n., 2017–2024

* Occurrences per million words in written English

Modern frequency series are derived from a corpus of 20 billion words, covering the period from 2017 to the present. The corpus is mainly compiled from online news sources, and covers all major varieties of World English.

Smoothing has been applied to series for lower-frequency words, using a moving-average algorithm. This reduces short-term fluctuations, which may be produced by variability in the content of the corpus.

Period | Frequency per million words
--- | ---
2017 | 0.2
2018 | 0.19
2019 | 0.19
2020 | 0.19
2021 | 0.19
2022 | 0.17
2023 | 0.18
2024 | 0.17

## Compounds & derived words

Sort by

1. zoologist, n. 1663–
   A person who studies animals; an expert or…

1. zoological, adj. & n. 1686–
   Of or relating to zoology; belonging or devoted…

1. zoologic, adj. 1766–
   = zoological, adj. (in various senses).

1. zoologizing, n. 1815–
   The action of studying zoology; zoological study…

1. zoologize, v. 1830–
   intransitive. To engage in the study of zoology…

1. marine zoology, n. 1840–
   The study of animals living in the sea.

1. palaeozoology, n. 1843–
   The branch of zoology that deals with extinct and…

1. oryctozoology, n. 1857
   A treatise on fossil animal remains.

1. cainozoology, n. 1861–
   (See quot.)

1. microzoology, n. 1872–

1. archaeozoology, n. 1884–
   The scientific analysis or study of animal…

1. ethnozoology, n. 1899–
   The traditional knowledge and customs of a people…

1. cryptozoology, n. 1968–
   The study of unknown, legendary, or extinct…

1. anthrozoology, n. 1992–
   The multidisciplinary study of the interaction…

zoology, n. was revised in June 2017.

zoology, n. was last modified in March 2025.