taxidermy
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
- taxidermal adjective
- taxidermic adjective
- taxidermist noun
Etymology
Origin of taxidermy
1810–20; taxi- + Greek dérm ( a ) skin ( see derma 1) + -y 3
Explanation
If you're a fan of taxidermy, you like real stuffed animals — animal skins specially prepared and mounted to look like they're alive. Some natural history museums are full of well-done taxidermy, real animals that have been mounted after death, treated to preserve them and posed to appear lifelike. The word taxidermy was first used in 1820, from the Greek words taxis, "arrangement," and derma, "skin." In other words, the slightly gruesome meaning of taxidermy is "an arrangement of skin."
Vocabulary lists containing taxidermy
Body Language: Derm ("Skin")
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Merci Suárez Changes Gears
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Frightful's Mountain
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Last year, Noah Aussems decided to close his Kips Bay sports bar Sucker Punch and partner with Chris Reda to renovate the space, importing wood from Kentucky and taxidermy from Indiana.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 23, 2025
Charles Darwin is a household name, but how many people know that the world’s most famous naturalist learned taxidermy from John Edmonstone, a formerly enslaved Black Briton who owned a bird-stuffing shop in Edinburgh, Scotland?
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2025
Shirtless, and crowned with what appears to be a wolf’s head taxidermy hat, he issues some sort of challenge while holding what looks like a gold-plated gun — are they toys? — in each hand.
From Salon • Jun. 27, 2025
"Given the chance, we can really see that independent business can thrive," he added, with "even a taxidermy shop" doing well in the arcade.
From BBC • Jun. 17, 2025
In the locked cabinet on the shelf above the prize book was the gnarly stuffed armadillo, the worst example of taxidermy I had ever seen.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
