ophthalmology n.

before vowels ophthalm-, word-forming element meaning "eye," mostly in plural, "the eyes," from Greek ophthalmos "eye," originally "the seeing," a word of uncertain origin. Perhaps from ōps "eye" (from PIE root *okw- "to see") + a form related to thalamos "inner room, chamber" (see thalamus), giving the whole a sense of "eye and eye socket," but Beekes rejects all this and finds it to be probably Pre-Greek.

word-forming element meaning "a speaking, discourse, treatise, doctrine, theory, science," from Greek -logia (often via French -logie or Medieval Latin -logia), from -log-, combining form of legein "to speak, tell;" thus, "the character or deportment of one who speaks or treats of (a certain subject);" from PIE root *leg- (1) "to collect, gather," with derivatives meaning "to speak (to 'pick out words')." Often via Medieval Latin -logia, French -logie. In philology "love of learning; love of words or discourse," apology, doxology, analogy, trilogy, etc., Greek logos "word, speech, statement, discourse" is directly concerned.

"one versed in ophthalmology," 1825; see ophthalmology + -ist.