ecology

/iˈkɑlədʒi/

/iˈkɒlədʒi/

Other forms: ecologies

The noun ecology describes the environment as it connects to living things, or the branch of biology that studies that environment.

The German zoologist Ernst Haeckel coined the word ecology almost 150 years ago, and it should come as no surprise — his being a serious scientist and all — that he combined a couple of Greek words to do it. Oikos means "habitation" and -ology means "the study of." So ecology started off as the study of where things live. More and more, though, the word is used interchangeably with environment.

Definitions of ecology

1. noun

   the environment as it relates to living organisms
   “it changed the ecology of the island”

   type of:

   environment

   the totality of surrounding conditions
2. noun

   the branch of biology concerned with the relations between organisms and their environment
   synonyms: bionomics, environmental science

   types:

   palaeoecology, paleoecology

   the branch of ecology that studies ancient ecology

   type of:

   biological science, biology

   the science that studies living organisms