Anatomy
/əˈnætəmi/
nounIntermediate📊CommonScience
1 meaning2 questions
Definitions
1
The branch of science concerned with the bodily structure of humans, animals, and other living organisms.
/əˈnætəmi/
nounneutralIntermediate
Science
The structure of a living organism
Human anatomy is a complex subject.
💡 Simply: The study of body parts and how they are arranged.
More Examples
2
The anatomy of a bird's wing is fascinating.
How It's Used
Medical
"The medical student studied human anatomy."
Biology
"The professor lectured on plant anatomy."
From late Middle English: via Old French from late Latin *anatomia, from Greek *anatomē ‘dissection’, from *anatémnein ‘to cut up’, from ana- ‘up’ + témnein ‘to cut’.
The word 'anatomy' has been used since the 14th century, initially referring to the dissection of corpses for anatomical study.
Memory tip
Ana (up) + tomy (cut) - cutting up to study the structure.
Word Origin
LanguageGreek
Original meaning
"to cut up"
Base: anatomy
human anatomyanimal anatomyplant anatomycomparative anatomy
Common misspellings
anantomyanatamyanotmy
Practice
Usage
20%Spoken
80%Written