anatomy

anatomy
\ \ [14] Etymologically, anatomy means ‘cutting up’ (the Greek noun anatomíā was compounded from the prefix ana- ‘up’ and the base *tom-, which figures in several English surgical terms, such as tonsillectomy [19], as well as in atom and tome), and when it first came into English it meant literally ‘dissection’ as well as ‘science of bodily structure’. From the 16th century to the early 19th century it was also used for ‘skeleton’, and in this sense it was often misanalysed as an atomy, as if the initial anwere the indefinite article: ‘My bones … will be taken up smooth, and white, and bare as an atomy’, Tobias Smollett, Don Quixote 1755.
\ \ Cf.ATOM, TOME

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Anatomy — (from the Greek polytonic|ἀνατομία anatomia , from polytonic|ἀνατέμνειν ana: separate, apart from, and temnein , to cut up, cut open) is a branch of biology that is the consideration of the structure of living things. It is a general term that… …   Wikipedia

  • Anatomy — • The science of the form and structure of living beings Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Anatomy     Anatomy     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • ANATOMY — ANATOMY. There is no systematic account of the anatomy of the human body in the Bible, although abundant use is made there of anatomical facts, metaphors, and expressions. Biblical anatomy is factual, empirical in the good sense of the word, and… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Anatomy — A*nat o*my, n.; pl. {Anatomies}. [F. anatomie, L. anatomia, Gr. ? dissection, fr. ? to cut up; ? + ? to cut.] 1. The art of dissecting, or artificially separating the different parts of any organized body, to discover their situation, structure,… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • anatomy — [n1] study of animal, plant structure analysis, biology, cytology, diagnosis, dissection, division, embryology, etiology, examination, genetics, histology, inquiry, investigation, medicine, morphology, physiology, zoology; concept 349 anatomy… …   New thesaurus

  • anatomy — index body (person), configuration (form), content (structure) Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • anatomy — (n.) late 14c., study of the structure of living beings; c.1400, anatomical structures, from O.Fr. anatomie, from L.L. anatomia, from Gk. anatomia, from anatome dissection, from ana up (see ANA (Cf. ana )) + temnein to cut (see TOME ( …   Etymology dictionary

  • anatomy — *structure, skeleton, framework …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • anatomy — ► NOUN (pl. anatomies) 1) the scientific study of bodily structure. 2) the bodily structure of a person, animal, or plant. 3) a detailed examination or analysis. DERIVATIVES anatomical adjective anatomically adverb anatomist noun …   English terms dictionary

  • anatomy — [ə nat′ə mē] n. pl. anatomies [ME & OFr anatomie < LL anatomia < Gr anatomia, anatomē, a cutting up < anatemnein < ana , up + temnein, to cut: see TOMY] 1. the dissecting of an animal or plant in order to determine the position,… …   English World dictionary

  • anatomy — /euh nat euh mee/, n., pl. anatomies. 1. the science dealing with the structure of animals and plants. 2. the structure of an animal or plant, or of any of its parts. 3. dissection of all or part of an animal or plant in order to study its… …   Universalium

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