etiology

e·ti·ol·o·gy also ae·ti·ol·o·gy  (t-l-j)

n. pl. e·ti·ol·o·gies also ae·ti·ol·o·gies

1.

a. The study of causes or origins.

b. The branch of medicine that deals with the causes or origins of disease.

2.

a. Assignment of a cause, an origin, or a reason for something.

b. The cause or origin of a disease or disorder as determined by medical diagnosis.

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[Late Latin aetiologia, from Greek aitiologi : aiti, cause + -logi, -logy.]

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eti·o·logic (--ljk), eti·o·logi·cal adj.

eti·o·logi·cal·ly adv.

eti·olo·gist n.

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etiology

Noun

pl -gies

1. the study of causation

2. the study of the cause of diseases [Greek aitia cause + -logy]

etiological adj

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etiology  (t-l-j)

The cause or origin of a disease, condition, or constellation of symptoms or signs, as determined by medical diagnosis or research.

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etiology, aetiology

1. the branch of medical science that studies the causes of diseases and the factors underlying their spread.
2. the accumulated knowledge of disease causes. — etiologist, n. — etiologic, etiological, adj.

See also: Disease and Illness

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the science of causation. — etiologic, aetiologic, etiological, aetiological, adj.

See also: Philosophy

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the science of the causes of natural phenomena. — etiologic, aetiologic, etiological, aetiological, adj.

See also: Nature

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the study of the causes for and origin of any phenomena. Also spelled aetiology. — etiological, adj.

See also: Origins

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	etiology - the cause of a disease aetiology cause - events that provide the generative force that is the origin of something; "they are trying to determine the cause of the crash"
	2.	etiology - the philosophical study of causation aetiology philosophy - the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics