noun
- the study of the characteristics, origins, and cultures of different ethnic groups and peoples
Usage: academic discipline; often used interchangeably with cultural anthropology in modern usage
Examples
- She earned her doctorate in ethnology, focusing on indigenous communities in Southeast Asia.
- Ethnology examines how different societies develop distinct customs and belief systems.
- The museum's ethnology department houses artifacts from cultures around the world.
- Modern ethnology combines fieldwork with historical and linguistic analysis.
- His research in ethnology revealed surprising similarities between distant cultures.