"student of seaweed," 1830, from Latin alga (see algae) + -logist (see -logue). Related: Algology.
Entries linking to algologist
algae n.
(plural), 1794, from alga (singular), 1550s, from Latin alga "seaweed," which is of uncertain origin. Perhaps connected to Latin ulva "grass-like or rush-like aquatic plant," or perhaps from a PIE root meaning "to putrefy, rot," but de Vaan considers this unlikely and suggests it might be a foreign loan-word.
-logue
word-forming element meaning "one who is immersed in or driven by," mostly from French-derived words, ultimately from Greek -logos, -logon (see -logy). Now mostly superseded by -loger, -logist except in ideologue and a few others. As a combining element meaning "kind of discourse," it is from French -logue, from Greek -logos.