-jē, -ji noun
( -es )
Etymology: French paléontologie, from palé- pale- + Greek onta existing things (from neuter plural of ont-, ōn, present part of einai to be) + French -logie -logy — more at ont-
1. : a science that deals with the life of past geological periods, is based on the study of fossil remains of plants and animals, and gives information especially about the phylogeny and relationships of modern animals and plants and about the chronology of the history of the earth — compare paleobiology , paleobotany , paleoclimatology , paleogeography , paleozoology
2.
a. : a treatise on paleontology (as of a region or period)
b. : the materials of this science : fossils
c. : the structural attributes of a fossil or extinct organism, type, or group