Let us illustrate your procedure concretely. Suppose you read or hear the
word _conchology_. It is a somewhat unusual word, but see what you
can do with it yourself before calling on the dictionary to help you.
Observe the word closely, and you will obtain the answer to your first
question. _Conchology_ is no bachelor, no verbal old maid; it is a
married pair.
Your second and more difficult task awaits you; you must ascertain the
meaning of the family connections. With Mr. Conch you are on speaking
terms; you know him as one of the shells. But the utmost you can recall
about his wife is that she is one of a whole flock of _ologies_. What
significance does this relationship possess? You are uncertain. But do not
thumb the dictionary yet. Pass in mental review all the _ologies_ you
can assemble. Wait also for the others that through the unconscious
operations of memory will tardily straggle in. Be on the lookout for
_ologies_ as you read, as you listen. In time you will muster a
sizable company of them. And you will draw a conclusion as to the meaning
of the blood that flows through their veins. _Ology_ implies speech
or study. _Conchology_, then, must be the study of conches.
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