Etiology (alternately aetiology, aitiology) is the study of causation. The philosophical concept of causality, the principles of causes, or causation, the working of causes, refers to the set of all particular causal or cause-and-effect relations. ...

Origin and usage of term

The term (deriving from the Greek words αἰτία aitia = cause and λόγος logos = word/speech) is used in philosophy, physics, psychology, and biology in reference to the causes of various phenomena. It is generally the study of why things occur, or even the reasons behind the way that things act. Philosopher in Meditation (detail), by Rembrandt Philosophy is a field of study that includes diverse subfields such as aesthetics, epistemology, ethics, logic, and metaphysics, in which people ask questions such as whether God exists, whether knowledge is possible, and what makes actions right or wrong. ... Physics is the science of Nature. ... Psychology (Gk: psyche, soul or mind + logos, speech) is an academic and applied field involving the study of the mind, brain, and behavior, both human and nonhuman. ... Biology is the branch of science dealing with the study of life. ...

Explanation

In medicine in particular, the term refers to the causes of diseases or pathologies. An example of the usage can be found at the three Cs of etiologywhich discusses the etiology of cleft lips and explains several methods used to study causation. Medicine is the branch of health science and the sector of public life concerned with maintaining human health or restoring it through the treatment of disease and injury. ... A disease is an abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person afflicted or those in contact with the person. ... Pathology (from Greek pathos, feeling, pain, suffering; and logos, study of; see also -ology) is the study of the processes underlying disease and other forms of illness, harmful abnormality, or dysfunction. ...

Historical

In Biblical criticism, etiologies give theological explanations for names or occurrences. Example: the story of Lot's wife in Genesis 19 (specifically 26) explains why there are pillars of salt in the area of the Dead Sea. (see notes in Oxford Annotated Edition, Revised Standard Version of the Bible, 1973) It has been suggested that Lut be merged into this article or section. ... Dead Sea at Sunset (from Suwayma, Jordan) The Dead Sea (Hebrew ים המלח) , (Arabic البحر الميت) is the lowest exposed point on the Earths surface. ...

An etiological myth is a myth intended to explain a name. For example, the name Delphoi and its associated deity, Apollon Delphinios, are explained in the Homeric Hymn which tells how Apollo carried Cretans over the sea in the shape of a dolphin to make them his priests. While there is an actual etymological connection between Delphoi and delphis (delphus means "womb"), many etiological myths are based on popular etymology (the term "Amazon", for example). The word mythology (Greek: μυθολογία, from μυθος mythos, a story or legend, and λογος logos, an account or speech) literally means the (oral) retelling of myths – stories that a particular culture believes to be true and that use supernatural events or characters to explain the nature of the universe and humanity. ... The theatre, seen from above Delphi (Greek Δελφοί — Delphoi) is an archaeological site and a modern town in Greece. ... Statue of Apollo at the British Museum. ... The anonymous Homeric Hymns are a collection of ancient Greek hymns. ... Crete (Greek Κρήτη Kriti; called Candia in the Venetian period and Turkish: Girit) is the largest of the Greek islands and the fifth largest in the Mediterranean Sea. ... Genera See article below. ... A fake etymology is an invented explanation (etymology) for the origin of a word. ... In Greek mythology, the , Amazons were either an ancient legendary nation of female warriors or a land dominated by women at the outer edges of their known world. ...

An example of the word in use:

"...there is on the other a tendency to attribute all diseases of unknown aetiology to 'viruses'. In some ways, it is similar to possession by demons in medieval times, and we could make a case for the virus as a 'demon'",

from the Foreword of the book Perfumery, edited by G. H. Dodd and C. Van Toller, 1986.