Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “ecology” come from?

Ecology comes from German Ökologie, combining Ancient Greek οἶκος (house, dwelling) and -λογία (study of), from λόγος (word, discourse) derived from λέγω (to speak), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European leǵ-.

ecology (English): The branch of biology dealing with the...

Definitions

  1. The branch of biology dealing with the...

Ancestry of “ecology”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanÖkologieecology
2Germanöko-eco-
3Ancient Greekοἶκοςhouse or dwelling place; estate, inheritance;...
4Ancient Greek-λογίαBase for nouns denoting the study of something,...
5Ancient GreekλόγοςThat which is said: word, sentence, speech,...
6Ancient GreekλέγωI put in order, arrange, gather; I choose, count,...
7Proto-Indo-Europeanleǵ-to gather, collect, with derivatives meaning to...

Words derived from “ecology”

  • ecological
  • eco
  • ecologically
  • ecotone
  • agroecological
  • paleoecology
  • socioecological
  • agroecology
  • paleoecological
  • ecologism
  • bioecological
  • palaeoecology
  • macroecological
  • macroecology
  • ethnoecology
  • ecotonal
  • ethnoecological
  • socioecology
  • radioecological
  • synecology
  • nonecological
  • microecology
  • unecological
  • radioecology
Every word from Proto-Indo-European leǵ- →