Cuvier

[ kyoo-vee-ey, koov-yey; French ky-vyey ]

noun
  1. Georges Lé·o·pold Chré·tien Fré·dé·ric Da·go·bert [zhawrzh ley-aw-pawldkrey-tyanfrey-dey-reekda-gaw-ber], /ʒɔrʒ leɪ ɔˈpɔld kreɪˈtyɛ̃ freɪ deɪˈrik da gɔˈbɛr/, Baron, 1769–1832, French naturalist: pioneer in the fields of paleontology and comparative anatomy.

Words Nearby Cuvier

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Cuvier in a sentence

  • The name Testacella, or little shell, was given by Cuvier in 1800, because this slug has a small shell at the end of the tail.

    Our British Snails | John William Horsley
  • It is an excellent illustration of Cuvier's sagacity, and he evidently takes some pride in telling his story about it.

    On the Method of Zadig | Thomas Henry Huxley

British Dictionary definitions for Cuvier

Cuvier

/ (ˈkjuːvɪeɪ, French kyvje) /


noun
  1. Georges (Jean-Leopold-Nicolas-Frédéric) (ʒɔrʒ), Baron. 1769–1832, French zoologist and statesman; founder of the sciences of comparative anatomy and palaeontology

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for Cuvier

Cuvier

[ kyōōvē-ā′ ]


  1. French anatomist who is considered the founder of comparative anatomy. He originated a system of zoological classification that grouped animals according to the structures of their skeletons and organs. Cuvier extended his system to fossils; his reconstructions of the way extinct animals looked, based on their skeletal remains, greatly advanced the science of paleontology.

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