n.
Pronunciation: i- ' kä-l ə -j ē , e-
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -gies
Etymology: German Ökologie, from öko- eco- + -logie -logy
Date: 1873
1 : a branch of science concerned with the interrelationship of organisms and their environments
2 : the totality or pattern of relations between organisms and their environment
3 : HUMAN ECOLOGY
4 : ENVIRONMENT , CLIMATE <the moral ecology > also : an often delicate or intricate system or complex <the ecology of language>
– eco · log · i · cal \ ˌ ē -k ə - ' lä-ji-k ə l, ˌ e-k ə - \ also eco · log · ic \ -jik \ adjective
– eco · log · i · cal · ly \ -ji-k( ə -)l ē \ adverb
– ecol · o · gist \ i- ' kä-l ə -jist, e- \ noun