geognosy

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English

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Etymology

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From German Geognosie; coined by Abraham Gottlob Werner. By surface analysis, geo- +‎ -gnosy.

Noun

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geognosy (uncountable)

  1. (obsolete or historical) The geological study of the Earth's structure and composition.
    • 1847, Edward Hitchcock, Elementary Geology:
      Some writers divide Geology into two branches; 1. Geognosy, or Positive Geology, which embraces only the known facts of the science. 2. Geogony, or Speculative Geology, which attempts to point out the causes of those facts, and the inferences that result from them.

Derived terms

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