phre ‧ nol ‧ ogy /frəˈnɒledʒi $ -ˈnɑː-/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable]
[ Date: 1800-1900 ; Language: Greek ; Origin: phren 'mind' + English -ology ]
the study of the shape of people’s heads as a way of finding out what their characters and abilities are, which was popular in the 19th century
—phrenologist noun [countable]