gynecology

noun

gy·​ne·​col·​o·​gy ˌgī-nə-ˈkä-lə-jē  ˌji- 

: a branch of medicine that deals with the diseases and routine physical care of the reproductive system of women

gynecologic

ˌgī-ni-kə-ˈlä-jik  ˌji- 

adjective

or gynecological

ˌgī-ni-kə-ˈlä-ji-kəl  ˌji- 

Examples of gynecology in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

By putting it in writing, of course. Dr. Alessandra Hirsch is a writer and assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. —Alessandra Hirsch, Chicago Tribune, 15 Jan. 2025

The specialties include gastroenterology, general surgery, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, orthopedic surgery, urology, neurological surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, and plastic and reconstructive surgery. —Michelle Marchante, Miami Herald, 14 Jan. 2025

Although the risks don’t vary dramatically by trimester, pregnancy itself makes people more vulnerable to respiratory challenges, according to Dr. Joseph Ouzounian, chair of obstetrics and gynecology at USC’s Keck School of Medicine. —Jackie Snow, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2025

According to data from 2022-2023, women make up a larger percentage of residents in: Obstetrics and gynecology (87.2%). —Michael T. Nietzel, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

probably borrowed from German Gynäkologie, borrowed from New Latin gynaecologia, from gynaeco- gyneco- + -logia -logy

Note: The Latin term appears in the titles of the German physician Martin Schurig's Gynaecologia historico-medica (Dresden, 1730) and in the German humanist and physician Johann Peter Lotichius's Gynaicologia, id est, de nobilitate et perfectione sexus feminei (Rinteln, 1630). Neither work, however, dealt with gynecology as a branch of medicine. Schurig's book dealt with female sexual behavior from a medical and legal standpoint, and Lotichius discussed the nature of women and challenged the ancients' belief in female inferiority.

First Known Use

1828, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

gynecology

noun

gy·​ne·​col·​o·​gy ˌgīn-i-ˈkäl-ə-jē  ˌjin- 

: a branch of medicine that is concerned with the diseases and routine medical care of the reproductive system of women

Medical Definition

gynecology

noun

gy·​ne·​col·​o·​gy

variants or chiefly British gynaecology

ˌgīn-ə-ˈkäl-ə-jē  ˌjin- 

plural gynecologies

: a branch of medicine that deals with the diseases and routine physical care of the reproductive system of women

gynecologic

ˌgīn-i-kə-ˈläj-ik  ˌjin- 

adjective

or gynecological

-i-kəl 

or chiefly British gynaecologic or gynaecological