phrenology

Etymology

From phreno- + -logy.

noun

  1. (medicine, biology) The science or now discredited pseudo-science, which studies the relationships between a person's character and the morphology (structure) of the skull.
    Phrenology involves feeling the bumps in the skull to determine an individual's psychological attributes.
    MR. BURNS: Who could forget such a monstrous visage? She has the sloping brow and cranial bumpage of the career criminal. MR. SMITHERS: Uh, sir, phrenology was dismissed as quackery 160 years ago. 1995-11-19, Richard Appel, “Mother Simpson”, in The Simpsons, Harry Shearer (actor)
    Phrenology was the practice of correlating bumps on a skull with mental powers and attributes of character. 2019, Bill Bryson, The Body: A Guide for Occupants, Black Swan (2020), page 86

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