Volcanological

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Concerning the scientific discipline that investigates volcanoes, including their eruptions and the formation of volcanic material
2. Pertaining to the study of volcanic activity and its geological implications as well as the environmental effects associated with volcanoes
3. Relating to the branch of science that examines both volcanoes and the phenomena associated with their eruptions and related geological processes

Etymology: "Volcanological" is a plain English formation: "volcanology" plus the adjective-forming suffix "-ical," which turns a noun for a field of study into a description of things connected with it. "Volcanology" itself is built from the Latin "Vulcanus," the god of fire and metalworking, whose name gave English "volcano," and the Greek-derived suffix "-logy," meaning the study of something. So the word literally means "relating to the study of the god of fire's mountains," a fitting pedigree for a science that studies eruptions, lava and the rock they leave behind.

Synonyms: volcanic, geological, petrological, tectonic, seismological