# biology

> English word · Noun · IPA /baɪˈɒl.ə.d͡ʒɪ/ · frequency rank #4,921

## Definitions
1. The study of all life or living matter.
2. The living organisms of a particular region.
3. The structure, function, and behavior of an organism or type of organism.
4. A biographical history.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃-der.
Ancient Greek βίος (bíos)
Proto-Indo-European *leǵ-
Ancient Greek λόγος (lógos)
Proto-Indo-European *-h₂
Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂
Proto-Indo-European *-i-eh₂
Proto-Hellenic *-íā
Ancient Greek -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā)
Ancient Greek -λογῐ́ᾱ (-logĭ́ā)bor.
New Latin -logia
New Latin biologialbor.
English biology
Borrowed from New Latin biologia (1766), itself from Ancient Greek βίος (bíos, “bio-, life”) + -λογία (-logía, “-logy, branch of study, to speak”). By surface analysis, bio- + -logy.
In English, first attested in the modern meaning in the work of English physician Thomas Beddoes in 1799. The term is also recorded in the sense of a biographical history in the work of Dudley Loftus in 1686, but this is considered by the Oxford English Dictionary to be an isolated use. The modern Greek βιολογία (viología) is borrowed from the English term and French biologie via international scientific vocabulary. Piecewise doublet of zoology.

## Easily confused with
- **biologic** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/biologic-vs-biology)

## Common misspellings (10)
`bbiology`, `biloogy`, `biolgoy`, `biollogy`, `biologgy`, `biologyy`, `bioloyg`, `bioolgy`, `boilogy`, `ibology`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/biology