anthropometry

American  

[an-thruh-pom-i-tree] / ˌæn θrəˈpɒm ɪ tri /

noun

1. the measurement of the size and proportions of the human body.

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anthropometry British  

/ ˌænθrəpəˈmɛtrɪk, ˌænθrəˈpɒmɪtrɪ /

noun

1. the comparative study of sizes and proportions of the human body

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anthropometry Scientific  

/ ăn′thrə-pŏm′ĭ-trē /

1. The study of human body measurement for use in anthropological classification and comparison. The use of such data as skull dimensions and body proportions in the attempt to classify human beings into racial, ethnic, and national groups has been largely discredited, but anthropometric techniques are still used in physical anthropology and paleoanthropology, especially to study evolutionary change in fossil hominid remains.

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Other Word Forms

• anthropometric adjective
• anthropometrical adjective
• anthropometrically adverb
• anthropometrist noun

Etymology

Origin of anthropometry

First recorded in 1830–40; anthropo- + -metry

Example Sentences

At the time, there was interest in the study of craniometry, the measurement of the cranium, and anthropometry, the scientific measurement of individuals.

From BBC • Feb. 24, 2023

It involved measuring the human body’s proportions against its surroundings, a science known as anthropometry, which would be a defining characteristic of Evans’s career.

From Washington Post • Oct. 1, 2016

The idea, says Henry Dreyfuss, a Manhattan industrial designer who specializes in anthropometry, is to "make machines fit people, because it's easier than making people fit the machines."

From Time Magazine Archive

To guard against just that kind of mistake, U.S. business is relying increasingly on the fast-growing science of anthropometry, which systematically studies man's ever-changing anatomical measurements and applies the findings to products and equipment.

From Time Magazine Archive

On the rather slim hope that anthropometry might shed a little light on this questionable phase of Fijian history, this area, along with the first three, has received separate treatment.

From A Racial Study of the Fijians by Gabel, Norman E.