bīˈäləjē, -ji noun
( -es )
Usage: often attributive
Etymology: German biologie, from bi- bi- (II) + -logie -logy
1.
a. : the science of life : a branch of knowledge that deals with living organisms and vital processes broadly including zoology, botany, morphology, genetics, embryology, and allied sciences but commonly being restricted to consideration of principles of wide application to the origin, development, structure, functions, and distribution of living matter as represented by plants and animals and to the generally recurrent phenomena of life, growth, and reproduction
b. : ecology
2.
a. : the plant and animal life of a particular region or environment considered as a unit
the biology of the plains
b. : the laws and phenomena relating to an organism or group
the biology of the honeybee
the biology of parasitic worms
3. : a treatise on biology