Sozology

//səʊˈzɒləd͡ʒi// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The study of protecting the natural environment from the destructive effects of human civilization. uncountable

    "It could be asked, of course, whether we yet have sufficient knowledge of the laws of nature to be able to make conscious use of them in shaping man's environment. […] In fact a whole new branch of science (which Polish scientists call sozology) has come into being. The task of this science is to detect all those factors which produce undesirable effects for man when modern means of production clash with the environment; and also to search for ways and means to eliminate these conflicts."

Example

More examples

"It could be asked, of course, whether we yet have sufficient knowledge of the laws of nature to be able to make conscious use of them in shaping man's environment. […] In fact a whole new branch of science (which Polish scientists call sozology) has come into being. The task of this science is to detect all those factors which produce undesirable effects for man when modern means of production clash with the environment; and also to search for ways and means to eliminate these conflicts."

Etymology

Partial calque of Polish sozologia + English -ology (suffix denoting the study of a particular subject). Sozologia is derived from Ancient Greek σῴζω (sōízō, “to rescue, save”) + -o- + -logia (suffix denoting the study of a particular subject). The Polish word was coined by Polish geologist and ecologist Walery Goetel in 1965.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.