Earth & SkyGreek → English
Hydrology
/haɪˈdrɑːlədʒi/noun
The science of water on and under the land, from rainfall to rivers to aquifers.
The Greek roots
ὕδωρ
hýdōr
water
λόγος
lógos
study, account
Literally: “water study”
The story of the word
English had hydrology in the 18th century, long before anyone made a living as a hydrologist; it meant the study of water at large. The modern discipline tracks everything water does between falling out of the sky and reaching the sea. ὕδωρ also gives the Hydra, the water-snake Heracles fought, and hydrogen, the water-maker, so named because burning it produces water.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → scientific coinage → English
- First recorded
- 18th century
Same family
hydrogenhydrantdehydratehydraulic
In a sentence
The dam's hydrology report ran to four hundred pages and still missed the flood.