Ologists

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A collective term for individuals who specialize in the study or practice of a specific area of science or medicine
2. A group of professionals engaged in research or applied practice within distinct fields of knowledge
3. Referring to experts in various disciplines such as biology, geology, or psychology who analyze and interpret information within their specialties

Etymology: "Ologists" is the plural of "ologist," a noun built from the suffix "-ologist," which marks someone who studies a particular field. The suffix itself comes from the "-ology" family: "-logy" traces back through Latin to Greek "logia," meaning a speaking or discourse, and from there to "logos," meaning word, reason, or account. The "-o-" in the middle is a connecting vowel joining the suffix to the stem it attaches to, so "geology" is the study of the earth and "biology" the study of life. The "-ologist" ending has a playful side in English. Because the suffix can be attached to almost any stem, writers have long used it to lump together a whole range of specialists at once, and "ologists" gathers them into a single group. Its meaning rests entirely on that combining pattern: the word names a crowd of people whose fields each end in "-ology" rather than naming any one discipline.