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anatomy

[ uh-nat-uh-mee ]
/ əˈnæt ə mi /
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noun, plural a·nat·o·mies.
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Origin of anatomy

1350–1400; Middle English <Latin anatomia<Greek anatom() a cutting up (ana-ana- + tom- cut (variant of tem-) + noun suffix) + -ia-y3
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use anatomy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for anatomy

anatomy
/ (əˈnætəmɪ) /

noun plural -mies
the science concerned with the physical structure of animals and plants
the physical structure of an animal or plant or any of its parts
a book or treatise on this subject
dissection of an animal or plant
any detailed analysisthe anatomy of a crime
informal the human body

Word Origin for anatomy

C14: from Latin anatomia, from Greek anatomē, from anatemnein to cut up, from ana- + temnein to cut
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 anatomy

anatomy
[ ə-nătə-mē ]

The structure of an organism or any of its parts.
The scientific study of the shape and structure of organisms and their parts.

Other words from anatomy

anatomical adjective (ăn′ə-tŏmĭ-kəl)
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for anatomy

anatomy

The structure of an animal or plant; also, the study of this structure through techniques such as microscopic observation and dissection. (Compare morphology and physiology.)

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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