aetiology

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
aetiology /ˌiːtɪˈɒlədʒi/ (US etiology)

▶noun

• 1 Medicine the cause or causes of a disease or condition.

• 2 the investigation or attribution of cause or a reason.

– derivatives
aetiologic adjective,
aetiological adjective,
aetiologically adverb.

– origin C16: via med. L. from Gk aitiologia, from aitia ‘a cause’ + -logia (see -logy).