Cubology

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The examination of geometric structures related to cubes and their properties is known as a specialized field of study
2. This area focuses on the various dimensions, shapes, and mathematical implications of cubic forms in space
3. The study of shapes and properties related to cubes ; the skill or practice of solving the Rubik's Cube puzzle

Etymology: "Cubology" is a plain formation: the Greek-derived suffix "-ology", meaning "the study of", attached to "cube". Its sense is simply the study of cubes and their geometric properties, a label modeled on older names for fields of study. The word's shape is more interesting than its history. The "-ology" ending comes from Greek "logos", "word" or "reason", and it has been used since the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to name sciences and disciplines, from "geology" to "biology." Attaching it to a common noun like "cube" produces a playful, slightly tongue-in-cheek coinage, the kind of name a writer might invent for a niche specialty.