cosmology

Cosmology begins in Greek κόσμος (kosmos), meaning order or world, used by the 6th century BCE. Greek philosophers formed κοσμολογία (kosmologia) to mean an account of the ordered universe. The term paired kosmos with -logia, "account." It was philosophical before it was scientific.

Latin adopted cosmologia by the 1st century CE in learned discourse. Medieval Latin used it for the structure of the heavens and the order of creation. By the 17th century, European thinkers employed cosmology for theories of the universe. The term kept a broad scope that included metaphysics and natural philosophy.

English adopted cosmology in the 17th century, with attestations around 1650. It entered through scholarly writing and theological debate. Over the 19th and 20th centuries it became tied to physics and astronomy. The word narrowed in practice while keeping its grand scale.

Today cosmology names the scientific study of the universe's origin, structure, and fate. It also retains a philosophical echo about why there is order at all. The word still means an account of the world, even when the tools are mathematical. The ancient pairing of order and account remains.