The suffix '-ology' means what?

• A. A branch of science
• B. The study of
• C. The practice of
• D. The field of knowledge

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that the ending -ology signals a focus on studying something. It comes from a word meaning “the study of” or “the science of.” That’s why terms like biology or psychology are named for what is studied—the life or the mind. So this suffix best means “the study of.”

The other ideas are a bit off the mark: it doesn’t specifically indicate a branch of science as a separate thing, nor the practice of something, nor just a general field of knowledge. It points to the act of studying the subject, which is why “the study of” is the correct interpretation.