English
entomology
Entomology comes from Ancient Greek ἔντομον ‘insect’, from λόγος ‘explanation’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to collect (words)’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-1‘to collect (words)’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*lógos1reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλόγος2‘explanation’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔντομον3éntomon‘insect’
- Frenchc. 1600–presententomologie3
- Englishearliest quotation 2025entomology3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek λόγος
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek -λογία
- 3 Wiktionary, English entomology
- Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2025, Jack Guy, Tiny QR codes help scientists track bee movements: ““This suggests that most of the foraging that the…”.
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*leǵ-Wiktionary, Ancient Greek λόγος‘to collect (words)’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*lógosWiktionary, Ancient Greek λόγοςreconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEλόγοςWiktionary, Ancient Greek -λογία‘explanation’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἔντομονWiktionary, English entomologyéntomon‘insect’
- Frenchc. 1600–presententomologieWiktionary, English entomology
- Englishearliest quotation 2025entomologyWiktionary, English entomology. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2025, Jack Guy, Tiny QR codes help scientists track bee movements: ““This suggests that most of the foraging that the…”
Formed from entomo- + -logy
Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- ‘to cut’
…
Ancient Greek τέμνω ‘to cut’
Ancient Greek τόμος ‘slice, piece’
Ancient Greek ἔντομος ‘cut into pieces’
Ancient Greek ἔντομον ‘insect’
English entomo-
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- ‘to collect (words)’
election, collection, technology, lesson, select, elite, eligible, collect, elect, legion, elegant, coil, catalogue, negligence, negligible, leach, lexicon, negligent, lexical, cull, diligent, epilogue, astrology, dialectic, legation, alexia, lignite, lexis, lignin, gynecologist, cosmology, ineligibility, dialogic, 149 more
through Proto-Hellenic *lógos
archaeological, pathological, astrological, pathophysiology, etymology, homologous, psychopathology, neurophysiology, bacteriological, histopathology, 101 more
through Ancient Greek λόγος ‘explanation’
logic, apology, trilogy, analogy, sociology, terminology, logos, physiology, pathology, logistic, prologue, archaeologist, pathologist, monologue, eulogy, epistemology, etiology, apologia, bacteriology, syllogism, bacteriologist, 110 more
Today it means
noun The scientific study of insects, and (informal) of other arthropods (and occasionally other invertebrates).
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “entomology”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Ancient Greek λόγος, Ancient Greek -λογία. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *leǵ- / entomology