taxonomy

American  

[tak-son-uh-mee] / tækˈsɒn ə mi /

noun

taxonomies plural

1. the science or technique of classification.

2. a classification into ordered categories.

   a proposed taxonomy of educational objectives.

3. Biology. the science dealing with the description, identification, naming, and classification of organisms.

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taxonomy British  

/ tækˈsɒnəmɪ, ˌtæksəˈnɒmɪk /

noun

1. 1. the branch of biology concerned with the classification of organisms into groups based on similarities of structure, origin, etc

   2. the practice of arranging organisms in this way

2. the science or practice of classification

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taxonomy Scientific  

/ tăk-sŏn′ə-mē /

1. The scientific classification of organisms into specially named groups based either on shared characteristics or on evolutionary relationships as inferred from the fossil record or established by genetic analysis.

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taxonomy Cultural  

1. The classification of living things. (See Linnean classification.)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nontaxonomic
  adjective
• taxonomically
  adverb
• taxonomer
  noun
• nontaxonomically
  adverb
• nontaxonomical
  adjective
• taxonomist
  noun
• taxonomical
  adjective
• taxonomic
  adjective

Inflected Forms

noun

• taxonomies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of taxonomy

First recorded in 1805–15, taxonomy is from the French word taxonomie. See taxo-, -nomy

Explanation

Taxonomy is all about organizing and classifying. To make it sound more scientific, you could refer to your project of reorganizing your spice rack according to smell as a taxonomy of spices. Taxonomy is a word used mainly in biology to talk about classifying living organisms, organizing them according to their similarities. If you've ever seen a chart with animals divided into species, genus, and family, you know what scientific taxonomy is. The word comes very straightforwardly from Greek words for "arrangement" — taxis — and "method" — nomia. So any special method for arranging or organizing things can be called taxonomy.

Example Sentences

“A curator’s job is really dynamic if the collection is being used scientifically,” adds Andrew Austin, director of Taxonomy Australia.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 5, 2024

The findings were published in the European Journal of Taxonomy.

From Science Daily • Sep. 19, 2023

Bloom’s Taxonomy, a framework that describes levels of thinking, is a better tool for determining AI capabilities than comparing them with humans’.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 19, 2023

Taxonomy is a subjective discipline: many organisms have more than one connection to each other, so each taxonomist will decide the order of connections.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

I pulled Granddaddy’s Taxonomy of the Insect World from my bookshelf and turned to the order Lepidoptera.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

Related Words

• allocation
• allotment
• analysis
• arrangement
• coordination
• designation
• distribution
• grade
• regulation