noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
Received-Pronunciation:/ˌpeɪli.ənˈtɒləd͡ʒi/
Received-Pronunciation:/ˌpæli.ənˈtɒləd͡ʒi/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ˌpeɪli.ənˈtɑləd͡ʒi/
CMU ARPABET:P EY2 L IY0 AH0 N T AA1 L AH0 JH IY0
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
The study of the forms of life existing in prehistoric or geologic times, especially as represented by fossils.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: US, uncountable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
the earth science that studies fossil organisms and related remains
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Attested since 1836 (as palæontology). From French paléontologie (attested since 1822). By surface analysis, paleo- (“ancient”) + onto- (“being”) + -logy (“study”).
Across languages
Translations
52 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Albanian:
paleontologjí
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Albanian:
paleontologjía
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Armenian:
հնէաբանություն
(hnēabanutʻyun)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Asturian:
paleontoloxía
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Bulgarian:
палеонтология
(paleontologija)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Burmese:
နိခါတကဗေဒ
(ni.hkata.ka.beda.)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Catalan:
paleontologia
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Chinese Mandarin:
古生物學 /古生物学
(gǔshēngwùxué)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Czech:
paleontologie
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Danish:
palæontologi
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Dutch:
paleontologie
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Esperanto:
paleontologio
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Finnish:
paleontologia
— study of prehistoric forms of life
French:
paléontologie
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Galician:
paleontoloxía
— study of prehistoric forms of life
German:
Paläontologie
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Greek:
παλαιοντολογία
(palaiontología)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Hindi:
जीवाश्मिकी
(jīvāśmikī)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Hindi:
जीवाश्मविज्ञान
(jīvāśmavijñān)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Icelandic:
steingervingafræði
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Indonesian:
paleontologi
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Irish:
pailé-ointeolaíocht
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Italian:
paleontologia
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Japanese:
古生物学
(koseibutsugaku)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Kazakh:
палеонтология
(paleontologiä)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Khmer:
បាសាណិភូតវិទ្យា
(baasaanə phuut vityie)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Korean:
고생물학
(gosaengmulhak)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Latvian:
paleontoloģija
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Lithuanian:
paleontologija
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Macedonian:
палеонтологија
(paleontologija)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Malay:
kaji fosil
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Malay:
paleontologi
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Māori:
mātai mātātoka
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Mongolian:
палеонтологи
(paleontologi)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Mongolian:
ᠫᠠᠯᠧᠣᠨ᠋ᠲ᠋ᠣᠯᠣᠭᠢ
(palēontoloɣi)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Norwegian Bokmål:
paleontologi
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Norwegian Nynorsk:
paleontologi
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Occitan:
paleontologia
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Polish:
paleontologia
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Portuguese:
paleontologia
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Romanian:
paleontologie
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Russian:
палеонтоло́гия
(paleontológija)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Slovene:
paleontologija
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Spanish:
paleontología
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Swahili:
paleontolojia
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Swedish:
paleontologi
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Thai:
บรรพชีวินวิทยา
(ban-pá-chii-win-wít-tá-yaa)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Ottoman Turkish:
مبحث المستحاثات
(mebhasüʼl-müstehâsât)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Ukrainian:
палеонтоло́гія
(paleontolóhija)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Vietnamese:
cổ sinh vật học
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Volapük:
fösilav
— study of prehistoric forms of life
Yiddish:
פּאַלעאָנטאָלאָגיע
(paleontologye)
— study of prehistoric forms of life
