etiology

UK: /ˌiːtiˈɒlədʒi/ US: (ē′tē ol′ə jē)

Inflections of 'etiology' (n): npl: etiologies

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

e•ti•ol•o•gy  (ē′tē ol′ə jē), n., pl. -gies. 

1. Drugs [Pathol.]
   • the study of the causes of diseases.
   • the cause or origin of a disease.
2. the study of causation.
3. Biology, Philosophy any study of causes, causation, or causality, as in philosophy, biology, or physics.

Also, aetiology. 

• Greek aitiología determining the cause of something, equivalent. to aití(a) cause + -o- -o- + -logia -logy
• Latin aetiologia
• 1545–55

e′ti•ol′o•gist, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

etiology / ˌiːtɪˈɒlədʒɪ/ noun ( -gies)

1. a variant spelling of aetiology

etiological / ˌiːtɪəˈlɒdʒɪk^əl/, etiologic / ˌiːtɪəˈlɒdʒɪk/ adjective

ˌetioˈlogically adverb

ˌetiˈologist noun

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

ae•ti•ol•o•gy  (ē′tē ol′ə jē), n., pl. -gies. 

1. etiology.

ae•ti•o•log•ic  (ē′tē ə loj′ik), ae′ti•o•log′i•cal adj.  ae′ti•o•log′i•cal•ly, adv. 
ae′ti•ol′o•gist, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

aetiology, etiology / ˌiːtɪˈɒlədʒɪ/ noun ( -gies)

1. the philosophy or study of causation
2. the study of the causes of diseases
3. the cause of a disease

Etymology: 16th Century: from Late Latin aetologia, from Greek aitiologia, from aitia cause

ˌaetiˈologist, ˌetiˈologist noun