ontology.
The branch of metaphysics that addresses the nature or essential characteristics of being and of things that exist; the study of being qua being.
Meaning & usage
The branch of metaphysics that addresses the nature or essential characteristics of being and of things that exist; the study of being qua being.
In a subject view, or a world view, the set of conceptual or material things or classes of things that are recognised as existing, or are assumed to exist in context, and their interrelations; in a body of theory, the ontology comprises the domain of discourse, the things that are defined as existing, together with whatever emerges from their mutual implications.
The theory of a particular philosopher or school of thought concerning the fundamental types of entity in the universe.
A logical system involving theory of classes, developed by Stanislaw Lesniewski (1886-1939).
A structure of concepts or entities within a domain, organized by relationships; a system model.
Where this word comes from
Learned borrowing from New Latin ontologia (1606, Ogdoas Scholastica, by Jacob Lorhard (Lorhardus)), from Ancient Greek ὤν, ὄντος (ṓn, óntos, “being”), present participle of εἰμί (eimí, “being, existing, essence”) + λόγος (lógos, “account”). By surface analysis, onto- + -logy. First known English use 1663: Archelogia philosophica nova; or, New principles of Philosophy. Containing Philosophy in general, Metaphysicks or Ontology, Dynamilogy or a Discourse of Power, Religio Philosophi or Natural Theology, Physicks or Natural philosophy, by Gideon Harvey (1636–1702), London, Thomson, 1663. Popularized as a philosophical term by German philosopher Christian Wolff (1679–1754).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.