1. The scientific study of animal behavior, especially as it occurs in a natural environment.
2. The study of human ethos and its formation.

[French éthologie, from Latin ēthologia, art of depicting character, from Greek ēthologiā : ēthos, character; see ethos + logos, speech, expression; see -logy.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.