Also spelled palaeontologist and palaeontologists
noun
Freq #53664
Meanings
-
1
noun
a scientist who studies fossils and life from past geological periods
The paleontologist compared the fossil teeth with those of living reptiles.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
1
noun
· a scientist who studies...
palaeontologistfossil scientistfossilist
Word family
Etymology
Formed from paleontology + -ist. Paleontology combines Greek palaios ("ancient"), on, genitive ontos ("being, creature"), and -logy ("study"). Palaeontologist is the standard British spelling; paleontologist is the usual American form.