Logo
Menu
dictionary thesaurus

thanatology

noun
than·​a·​tol·​o·​gy | \ ˌtha-nə-ˈtä-lə-jē How to pronounce thanatology (audio) \

Definition of thanatology

: the description or study of the phenomena of death and of psychological mechanisms for coping with them
Other Words from thanatology Did You Know? Example Sentences Learn More about thanatology

Keep scrolling for more

Other Words from thanatology

thanatological \ ˌtha-​nə-​tə-​ˈlä-​ji-​kəl How to pronounce thanatological (audio) \ adjective
thanatologist \ ˌtha-​nə-​ˈtä-​lə-​jist How to pronounce thanatologist (audio) \ noun

Did You Know?

In Greek mythology, Thanatos was the personification of death and the twin brother of Hypnos (Sleep). The ancient Greeks eventually came to use thanatos as a generic word for "death." Thanatology is a direct linguistic heir of the Greek term and was first documented in English in the mid-1800s. As a science, thanatology examines attitudes toward death, the meaning and behaviors of bereavement and grief, and other matters. In 1935, the word thanatos itself made its debut in English, ushered in with psychoanalytic theory to describe an unconscious tendency toward self-destruction.

Examples of thanatology in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

 Another thirty-five years passed before the paper was translated into English and published, in Omega, a journal of thanatology, by Russell Noyes, Jr., a psychiatrist at the University of Iowa. — Rachel Aviv, The New Yorker, "Black Ice, Near-Death, and Transcendence on I-91," 2 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of thanatology

circa 1842, in the meaning defined above

History and Etymology for thanatology

Greek thanatos + English -logy

Keep scrolling for more

Keep scrolling for more

More Definitions for thanatology

thanatology

noun
than·​a·​tol·​o·​gy | \ ˌthan-ə-ˈtäl-ə-jē How to pronounce thanatology (audio) \
plural thanatologies

Medical Definition of thanatology

: the description or study of the phenomena of death and of psychological mechanisms for coping with them

Other Words from thanatology

thanatological \ ˌthan-​ət-​ᵊl-​ˈäj-​i-​kəl How to pronounce thanatological (audio) \ adjective

WORD OF THE DAY

abstruse

play

See Definitions and Examples

Get Word of the Day daily email!