English
mantology
Mantology may come from Ancient Greek μᾰ́ντῐς ‘mantis, prophet or seer’.
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, English mantology
Earlier history uncertain. See Wiktionary.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμᾰ́ντῐςWiktionary, English mantology‘mantis, prophet or seer’uncertain
- EnglishtodaymantologyWiktionary, English mantology
The story
A late 18th century construction, either a classical compound with components derived from Ancient Greek μᾰ́ντῐς (mắntĭs, “mantis, prophet or seer”) + -λογία (-logía, “-logy, branch of study, to speak”), otherwise syncretically from either: the Greek element μᾰ́ντῐς (mắntĭs) + English elements -o- + -logy or Greek element μᾰ́ντῐς (mắntĭs) + English element -ology.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *men- ‘to think, mind’
money, music, mind, amount, mouth, museum, comment, mental, remain, mountain, mention, monster, min, mount, auto, monitor, permanent, monetary, demonstration, monk, monument, mint, maya, monastery, amnesty, dementia, muse, mosaic, mentor, summon, menace, ming, prominence, imminent, monte, muster, monstrous, eminent, amnesia, mas, 121 more
through Ancient Greek μαίνομαι ‘to be mad or raving’
Today it means
noun Divination.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “mantology”. 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 / Ancient Greek μᾰ́ντῐς / mantology