-ləjē, -ji noun
( -es )
Etymology: French sociologie, from socio- (from Latin socius associate, companion) + -logie -logy — more at social
1. : the science of society, social institutions, and social relationships ; specifically : the systematic study of the development, structure, and function of human groups conceived as processes of interaction or as organized patterns of collective behavior
2.
a. : the scientific analysis of a social institution as a functioning whole and as it relates to the rest of society
the sociology of education
the sociology of law
the sociology of business
b. : an analysis or exposition of the socially significant traits of a specific group, class, or social milieu
a sociology of the blind
write a sociology of Victorian England
3. Britain : social anthropology
4. : the study of social and behavioral interaction among lower animals (as in a flock of hens) : synecology