cetology

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the branch of zoology concerned with cetaceans, including whales, dolphins, and porpoises

   Modern cetology combines field observation, acoustics, anatomy, and genetics.

2. 2
   noun

   a body or system of knowledge about whales and other cetaceans, especially their description and classification

   Melville turns sailors' reports and old natural histories into a playful cetology of his own.

Formed in the early nineteenth century from cet-, denoting whales or cetaceans, and -ology, the study of. Cet- ultimately comes through Latin cetus from Greek ketos, meaning a large sea creature or whale. The term can denote both scientific study and an organized body of whale lore.

Topics