anatomy
/əˈnætəmi/ noun
Forms anatomies
- noun The science that deals with the form and structure of organic bodies; anatomical structure or organization. “Animal anatomy is also called zootomy; vegetable anatomy, phytotomy; and human anatomy, anthropotomy.”
- noun The study of the parts of any organized body, to discover their situation, structure, and economy.
- noun The physical or functional organization of an organism, or part of it. “I went to the Venice beach body-building competition and noticed the competitor from Athens, and let me tell you, that's what I call classic Greek anatomy.”
- noun (countable) A treatise or book on anatomy.
- noun (colloquial) The form of an individual.
- noun (euphemistic) The human body, especially in reference to the genitals.
- noun (countable, archaic) A skeleton or other dead body.
- noun (by extension) The act of dividing anything, corporeal or intellectual, for the purpose of examining its parts. “the anatomy of a discourse”
Synonyms
analysis general anatomy human body physical body material body soma build figure physique shape bod chassis frame form flesh
Etymology
From Middle English anatomie, from Old French anatomie, from Latin anatomia, from Ancient Greek ἀνατομή (anatomḗ, “dissection”, literally “cutting up”), from ἀνα- (ana-, “up”) + τέμνω (témnō, “to cut, incise”). By surface analysis, ana- + -tomy. Doublet of ottomy.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The art of dissecting, or artificially separating the different parts of any organized body, to discover their situation, structure, and economy; dissection.
- noun The science which treats of the structure of organic bodies; anatomical structure or organization.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “anatomy”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details