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

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Etymology

Origin of botany

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

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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

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

“We’ve always been intrigued by overlap between plants and humans,” study coauthor Pradeep Kachroo, a botany professor at the University of Kentucky, told Salon in a video interview.

From Salon ● Mar. 5, 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

It was the germander speedwell that in literature and botanies alike was most commonly known as the forget-me-not for more than two hundred years, or until only fifty years ago.

From Wild Flowers Worth Knowing by Neltje Blanchan

Flowers shall again outblossom botanies, and gymnasts of music shall be laid low, and Birds Through An Opera Glass shall sing.

From The Lost Art of Reading by Gerald Stanley Lee

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

They packed in all their bird books, their flower records, and botanies, and were eagerly waiting when the call from Mr. Dovesky came.

From Michael O'Halloran by Gene Stratton-Porter

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

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