Hoplology

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The study of the principles and practices related to the use of weapons and combat techniques is known as one field of inquiry
2. This discipline examines historical, cultural, and tactical aspects of warfare and weaponry
3. A scholarly pursuit, it focuses on the analysis of fighting systems and the development of arms in diverse contexts

Etymology: "Hoplology" is a plain formation from two Greek elements: "hoplo-", from Greek "hoplon", meaning a weapon or piece of armour (in the classical sense, especially a heavy shield), and "-ology", from "logos", meaning study or discourse. Put together, the word names the systematic study of arms and fighting. The word is a modern coinage built from classical parts rather than a term that existed in antiquity. Ancient Greeks had "hoplon" for a shield and "hoplites" for heavy infantry, but they had no single word for a scholarly study of weapons. Scholars and writers reached for this kind of Greek-based compound when they needed a precise name for a new field of inquiry.