Aerolithology

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. research into the origin, structure, and classification of meteorites that fall to Earth
2. The scientific examination of the origin, composition, and classification of rocks that fall from space to Earth
3. An investigative field focused on understanding meteorites, including their formation and physical attributes

Etymology: Aerolithology is a plain technical coinage, built in English from two existing pieces: "aerolith," an older word for a meteorite (from Greek "aēr," air, and "lithos," stone), and the suffix "-logy," meaning the study or science of something. Put together, the name simply means the study of stones that fall from the sky. The first part carries the more surprising history. "Aerolith" describes a stone that seems to have come through the air, so the word points to the old idea of meteorites as airborne rock. Modern usage has largely settled on "meteorite," which is why "aerolithology" now reads as a deliberately old-fashioned or specialist term.