study

Etymology 1

From Middle English studien, from Old French estudier (Modern French étudier), from the noun estudie, borrowed from Latin studium. Displaced native Old English cneordlæcan.

verb

1. (usually academic) To review materials already learned in order to make sure one does not forget them, usually in preparation for an examination.
   Students are expected to start studying for final exams in March.
   I need to study my biology notes.
2. (academic) To take a course or courses on a subject.
   I study medicine at the university.
3. To acquire knowledge on a subject with the intention of applying it in practice.
   Biologists study living things.
   In 2015, scientists found that 82 percent of glaciers studied in China had decreased in size. File:In 2015, scientists found that.ogg
4. To look at minutely.
   He studied the map in preparation for the hike.
5. To fix the mind closely upon a subject; to dwell upon anything in thought; to muse; to ponder.
   July 10, 1732, Jonathan Swift, letter to Mr. Gay and The Duchess of Queensberry I found a moral first, and studied for a fable.
6. To endeavor diligently; to be zealous.

Etymology 2

From Middle English studie, from Old French estudie (Modern French étude), borrowed from Latin studium (“zeal, dedication, study”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tewd- (“to push, hit”). Doublet of studio.

noun

1. Mental effort to acquire knowledge or learning.
   The study of languages is fascinating.
   During the whole time of his abode in the university he generally spent thirteen hours of the day in study; by which assiduity besides an exact dispatch of the whole course of philosophy, he read over in a manner all classic authors that are extant[…] 1661, John Fell, The Life of the most learned, reverend and pious Dr. H. Hammond
   Study gives strength to the mind; conversation, grace: the first apt to give stiffness, the other suppleness: one gives substance and form to the statue, the other polishes it. 1699, William Temple, Heads designed for an essay on conversations
   He draws eclectically on studies of baboons, descriptive anthropological accounts of hunter-gatherer societies and, in a few cases, the fossil record. 2012 March-April, John T. Jost, “Social Justice: Is It in Our Nature (and Our Future)?”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 162
2. The act of studying or examining; examination.
   I made a careful study of his sister.
   Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis:[…]. The evolutionary precursor of photosynthesis is still under debate, and a new study sheds light. The critical component of the photosynthetic system is the “water-oxidizing complex”, made up of manganese atoms and a calcium atom. 2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist
3. Any particular branch of learning that is studied; any object of attentive consideration.
   The Holy Scriptures, especially the New Testament, are her daily study. 1762, Edmund Law, An extract from A serious call to a devout and holy life
4. A room in a house intended for reading and writing; traditionally the private room of the male head of household.
   Father spends all his time in the study poring over manuscripts.
5. An artwork made in order to practise or demonstrate a subject or technique.
   a study of heads or of hands for a figure picture
6. The human face, bearing an expression which the observer finds amusingly typical of a particular emotion or state of mind.
   Geoffrey's face was a study.
   Geoffrey's face was a study in amazement [or in bewilderment, irritation, distress etc.]
7. (music) A piece for special practice; an étude.
8. (academic) An academic publication.
   That new study on noncommutative symmetries looks promising.
9. One who commits a theatrical part to memory.
10. (chess) An endgame problem composed for artistic merit, where one side is to play for a win or for a draw.
11. (obsolete) A state of mental perplexity or worried thought.
12. (archaic) Thought, as directed to a specific purpose; one's concern.
    My study was to avoid disturbing her.