astrology
nounUK /əˈstɹɒlədʒi/
Etymology From Middle French astrologie, and its source, Latin astrologia (“astronomy”), from Ancient Greek ἀστρολογία (astrología, “telling of the stars”), from ἄστρον (ástron, “star, planet, or constellation”) + -λογία (-logía, “treating of”), a combination form of -λόγος (-lógos, “one who speaks (in a certain manner)”). Morphologically astro- + -logy.
1
Usually Divination about human affairs or natural phenomena from the relative positions of celestial bodies.
- For if astronomy is the study of the movements of the heavens, then astrology is the study of the effects of those movements.1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 274:
- Followers of pseudosciences such as astrology often draw spurious parallels between their beliefs and established science.2012, The Guardian, (headline), 7 Feb 2012
1 more example
- In some ways, astrology is perfectly suited for the internet age. There’s a low barrier to entry, and nearly endless depths to plumb if you feel like falling down a Google research hole.2018 January 18, Julie Beck, “The New Age of Astrology”, in The Atlantic:
- Synonyms
- starcraft, astromancy
- Derived terms
- antiastrology, astrologaster, astrologese, astrologess, astrologick, astrologist, astrologize, Chinese astrology, horary astrology, judicial astrology, judiciary astrology, natural astrology, sidereal astrology, tropical astrology, Western astrology
- Related terms
- astrologer, astrological, astrologically, astrologism, astrosophy, astronomy
- Hypernyms
- protoscience, pseudoscience