Suffix · forms nouns
Names a science or field of study: bio + ology = biology.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
The suffix -ology (or -logy when the root already ends in a vowel) means "study of" or "science of". From "bio" (life) you get "biology"; from "psych" (mind) you get "psychology"; from "techn" (craft) you get "technology". It is one of the most productive scientific suffixes in English: almost any field of knowledge can add -ology to name its discipline.
Spanish uses -ología and English uses -ology. The match is almost perfect: biology = biología psychology = psicología technology = tecnología sociology = sociología archeology = arqueología If Spanish uses -ología for a science name, English uses -ology. Just swap the ending: -ología → -ology.
Every -ology word generates three: biology = the science biologist = the practitioner biological = the adjective Learning one -ology word gives you the professional (-ologist) and the adjective (-ological) for free.
Greek or Latin root + ology. The root may need a linking vowel.
The roots are almost always Greek in origin. If you know the Greek prefixes (bio = life, psych = mind, geo = earth, cardi = heart), you can decode any -ology word instantly.
-ology / -logy/ɒlədʒi/ · sounds like 'OL-uh-jee'
Tap the button to hear how the ending sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
In English it ends in -ology (no accent, no -e): biology, psychology, technology.
technology (not "tecnology"): the root is "techn-" from Greek. The -h is retained.
The person who studies biology is a "biologist", not "biologyst". -ology → -ologist.
A trick to remember it
If Spanish says "-ología", English says "-ology": biología = biology, psicología = psychology. And remember the family: -ology (science), -ologist (scientist), -ological (adjective).
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
What do you call the person who studies "geology"?
Exercise 3 · Pick the right one
"meteorology" studies...
The suffix -ology / -logy names a science or field of study: bio + ology = biology. In Spanish it usually maps to -ología.
The ending -ology / -logy is pronounced /ɒlədʒi/ · sounds like 'OL-uh-jee'. For example, "biology".
"bio" becomes "biology". It is a typical example of the -ology / -logy suffix.
-tion, -ness, -ful, -ly, -able... every ending you need to understand thousands of words at once.