Meanings
alternative Commonwealth palaeontology · alternative dated palæontology
- USuncountableThe study of the forms of life existing in prehistoric or geologic times, especially as represented by fossils.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounthe earth science that studies fossil organisms and related remains
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchpaléontologie
- Englishpaleontology
Attested since 1836 (as palæontology). From French paléontologie (attested since 1822). By surface analysis, paleo- (“ancient”) + onto- (“being”) + -logy (“study”).
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian палеонтология
- палеонтология (paleontologija)study of prehistoric forms of life
Catalan paleontologia
- paleontologiastudy of prehistoric forms of life
Chinese Mandarin 古生物學 /古生物学
- 古生物學 /古生物学 (gǔshēngwùxué)study of prehistoric forms of life
Czech paleontologie
- paleontologiestudy of prehistoric forms of life
Danish palæontologi
- palæontologistudy of prehistoric forms of life
Dutch paleontologie
- paleontologiestudy of prehistoric forms of life
Esperanto paleontologio
- paleontologiostudy of prehistoric forms of life
Finnish paleontologia
- paleontologiastudy of prehistoric forms of life
French paléontologie
- paléontologiestudy of prehistoric forms of life
German Paläontologie
- Paläontologiestudy of prehistoric forms of life
Greek παλαιοντολογία
- παλαιοντολογία (palaiontología)study of prehistoric forms of life
Hindi जीवाश्मिकी, जीवाश्मविज्ञान
- जीवाश्मिकी (jīvāśmikī)study of prehistoric forms of life
- जीवाश्मविज्ञान (jīvāśmavijñān)study of prehistoric forms of life
Icelandic steingervingafræði
- steingervingafræðistudy of prehistoric forms of life
Indonesian paleontologi
- paleontologistudy of prehistoric forms of life
Irish pailé-ointeolaíocht
- pailé-ointeolaíochtstudy of prehistoric forms of life
Italian paleontologia
- paleontologiastudy of prehistoric forms of life
Japanese 古生物学
- 古生物学 (koseibutsugaku)study of prehistoric forms of life
Korean 고생물학
- 고생물학 (gosaengmulhak)study of prehistoric forms of life
Latvian paleontoloģija
- paleontoloģijastudy of prehistoric forms of life
Lithuanian paleontologija
- paleontologijastudy of prehistoric forms of life
Malay kaji fosil, paleontologi
- kaji fosilstudy of prehistoric forms of life
- paleontologistudy of prehistoric forms of life
Māori mātai mātātoka
- mātai mātātokastudy of prehistoric forms of life
Norwegian Bokmål paleontologi
- paleontologistudy of prehistoric forms of life
Polish paleontologia
- paleontologiastudy of prehistoric forms of life
Portuguese paleontologia
- paleontologiastudy of prehistoric forms of life
Romanian paleontologie
- paleontologiestudy of prehistoric forms of life
Russian палеонтоло́гия
- палеонтоло́гия (paleontológija)study of prehistoric forms of life
Spanish paleontología
- paleontologíastudy of prehistoric forms of life
Swahili paleontolojia
- paleontolojiastudy of prehistoric forms of life
Swedish paleontologi
- paleontologistudy of prehistoric forms of life
Thai บรรพชีวินวิทยา
- บรรพชีวินวิทยา (ban-pá-chii-win-wít-tá-yaa)study of prehistoric forms of life
Ukrainian палеонтоло́гія
- палеонтоло́гія (paleontolóhija)study of prehistoric forms of life
Vietnamese cổ sinh vật học
- cổ sinh vật họcstudy of prehistoric forms of life
Yiddish פּאַלעאָנטאָלאָגיע
- פּאַלעאָנטאָלאָגיע (paleontologye)study of prehistoric forms of life
Cite this entry
paleontology. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paleontology
“paleontology.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paleontology. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “paleontology,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paleontology.
Source: paleontology on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.