Ailurology

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The branch of zoology devoted to the scientific study of cats, including their biology, behavior and evolution
2. A field of study that examines felines in a systematic, scientific way, covering their anatomy, habits and history
3. The science concerned with the study of cats and their natural characteristics, behaviors and relationship with humans

Etymology: Ailurology is a modern coinage, not an ancient term, and its roots are Greek. The first part comes from Greek "ailouros," meaning "cat," which is itself often explained as "waving tail" (from "ailo," to move quickly, plus "oura," tail), though that breakdown is debated. The second part, "-logia," gives us the "-logy" meaning "study of" found in words like biology. Put together, the word means the scientific study of cats. Because the word is built from classical parts, it could only have been made once the Greek elements were being combined freely to name new fields of learning, which happened mainly in the 18th and 19th centuries. Its exact first recorded date and coiner are not something I can confirm, so the most that can be said is that it belongs to that period of scientific naming.