occultism - the study of the supernatural

communication theory, communications - the discipline that studies the principles of transmiting information and the methods by which it is delivered (as print or radio or television etc.); "communications is his major field of study"

major - the principal field of study of a student at a university; "her major is linguistics"

frontier - an undeveloped field of study; a topic inviting research and development; "he worked at the frontier of brain science"

allometry - study of the relative growth of a part of an organism in relation to the growth of the whole

bibliotics - the scientific study of documents and handwriting etc. especially to determine authorship or authenticity

ology - an informal word (abstracted from words with this ending) for some unidentified branch of knowledge

knowledge base, knowledge domain - the content of a particular domain or field of knowledge

science, scientific discipline - a particular branch of scientific knowledge; "the science of genetics"

architecture - the discipline dealing with the principles of design and construction and ornamentation of fine buildings; "architecture and eloquence are mixed arts whose end is sometimes beauty and sometimes use"

applied science, engineering science, technology, engineering - the discipline dealing with the art or science of applying scientific knowledge to practical problems; "he had trouble deciding which branch of engineering to study"

futuristics, futurology - the study or prediction of future developments on the basis of existing conditions

arts, humanistic discipline, humanities, liberal arts - studies intended to provide general knowledge and intellectual skills (rather than occupational or professional skills); "the college of arts and sciences"

theology, divinity - the rational and systematic study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truth

military science - the discipline dealing with the principles of warfare

numerology - the study of the supposed occult influence of numbers on human affairs

protology - the study of origins and first things; "To Christians, protology refers to God's fundamental purpose for humanity"

theogony - the study of the origins and genealogy of the gods

system of rules, system - a complex of methods or rules governing behavior; "they have to operate under a system they oppose"; "that language has a complex system for indicating gender"

trait - a distinguishing feature of your personal nature

self-denial, self-discipline - the trait of practicing self discipline

restraint, control - discipline in personal and social activities; "he was a model of polite restraint"; "she never lost control of herself"

grooming, training, preparation - activity leading to skilled behavior

penalisation, penalization, penalty, punishment - the act of punishing

spanking - the act of slapping on the buttocks; "he gave the brat a good spanking"

make grow, develop - cause to grow and differentiate in ways conforming to its natural development; "The perfect climate here develops the grain"; "He developed a new kind of apple"

mortify - practice self-denial of one's body and appetites

groom, train, prepare - prepare (someone) for a future role or function; "He is grooming his son to become his successor"; "The prince was prepared to become King one day"; "They trained him to be a warrior"

penalise, penalize, punish - impose a penalty on; inflict punishment on; "The students were penalized for showing up late for class"; "we had to punish the dog for soiling the floor again"