etiology

[lettered]

e·ti·ol·o·gy 

 
[ee-tee-ol-uh-jee]

–noun, plural: -gies.
1. Pathology

a. the study of the causes of diseases
b. the cause or origin of a disease

2. the study of causation
3. any study of causes, causation, or causality, as in philosophy, biology, or physics