botany

American  

[bot-n-ee] / ˈbɒt n i /

noun

• botanies
  plural

1. the science of plants; the branch of biology that deals with plant life.

2. the plant life of a region.

   the botany of Alaska.

3. the biology of a plant or plant group.

   the botany of deciduous trees.

4. (sometimes initial capital letter) Botany wool.

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botany British  

/ ˈbɒtənɪ /

noun

1. the study of plants, including their classification, structure, physiology, ecology, and economic importance

2. the plant life of a particular region or time

3. the biological characteristics of a particular group of plants

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botany Scientific  

/ bŏt′n-ē /

1. The scientific study of plants, including their growth, structure, physiology, reproduction, and pathology, as well as their economic use and cultivation by humans.

2. The plant life of a particular area.

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botany Cultural  

1. The scientific study and categorization of plants. (See fruit, photosynthesis, and plant kingdom.)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• botanist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• botanies
  plural

Etymology

Origin of botany

1690–1700; botan(ic) ( see botanical) + -y ³

Explanation

The study of plants is called botany. Each climate has its own particular botany, so if you study desert growth, you might focus on such plants as cactus and sage, while if you're in the jungle you'd study the lush growth there. Someone once said, "Botany is the science in which plants are known by their aliases." Indeed, the study of botany includes learning the scientific names of plants. The origin of the word botany came from the Greek word botane, which means "grass" or "pasture." Since the original meaning focused on the idea of a pasture, it's possible the study of botany came about from herdsmen needing to know what plants were safe for their herds to eat.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

botany botanies

Simon Milne, regius keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, also receives a knighthood for services to botany, conservation and horticulture.

From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026

An exceptional amount of knowledge about botany, forestry, gastronomy, aquatic systems and topography was not just passed along by enslaved people, but created by them.

From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026

Specialists in zoology, ecology, and botany worked together to uncover how different species manage to survive there.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 2, 2026

First, a botany crash-course: You can’t just plant a seed from your favorite apple to grow more of them.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025

They satisfy many people’s conception of knowledge as a kind of general botany where there’s a place for everything and everything has its place.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos

The topic Grasses is manifestly unfit for children, since grasses are difficult to study, and the description of them in encyclopedias and botanies is too technical.

From Library Work with Children by Alice Isabel Hazeltine

The fruit-bearing palms require a chapter to themselves in the botanies, and are a source of surprising wealth.

From Modern India by William Eleroy Curtis

With a sentiment of wonder and inquiry, not unmixed with mystery, do we regard many flowers, which are described in our botanies as Garden Escapes.

From Old-Time Gardens Newly Set Forth by Alice Morse Earle

She was familiar with many members of she family, but such a fine specimen she seldom had found and she could not recall having seen it in all of her botanies.

From Her Father's Daughter by Gene Stratton-Porter

Aside from laxity of method and statement, the only difference is that geographies and histories and botanies and astronomies are now part of the authoritative literature which is to be mastered.

From Democracy and Education: an introduction to the philosophy of education by John Dewey