Chronobiologies

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The field of science that studies biological rhythms in relation to time cycles and their influence on living organisms
2. A branch of biology focusing on the impact of periodic phenomena on biological processes and behaviors
3. The scientific exploration of how temporal patterns affect biological functions and ecological interactions in organisms

Etymology: Chronobiology is a compound built from two Greek elements, and its second half carries a much older history than its first. "Bios" meant "life" in ancient Greek, and "logos" meant "word", "account" or "study", so biology literally means the study of life. Biology itself was a 19th-century coinage, formed in New Latin from those Greek roots, and the word did not exist in classical antiquity. The first half, "chrono-", comes from Ancient Greek "khronos", meaning "time". Attaching it to biology produced a field defined by its focus on timing: the rhythms that living things keep, from daily sleep-wake cycles to seasonal changes in behaviour. The word is therefore a modern English compound, assembled from ancient parts to name a science that studies time as it shapes life.

Synonyms: biological rhythms studies, circadian biology