taxidermy

noun

taxi·​der·​my ˈtak-sə-ˌdər-mē How to pronounce taxidermy (audio)
: the art of preparing, stuffing, and mounting the skins of animals and especially vertebrates
taxidermic
ˌtak-sə-ˈdər-mik How to pronounce taxidermy (audio)
adjective
taxidermist
ˈtak-sə-ˌdər-mist How to pronounce taxidermy (audio)
noun

Examples of taxidermy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Jojo’s bear will be made into a standing full-body mount and placed with other taxidermy in the family dining room. —Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 7 Nov. 2024 An exploration of how taxidermy in museums has evolved over the years. —Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 3 Oct. 2024 Improbable poses, struck by working behind the scenes with contortionists, only heighten the palpable tension extended through an unusual use of taxidermy and foreboding landscapes that beg for a moment of release. —Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 18 Oct. 2024 The house, stuffed with bad taxidermy and ominous talismans, would be unwelcoming even without the jarring noises and phantom presences coming from behind that cellar door, which Peig herself believes to be a dangerous spiritual threshold. —Guy Lodge, Variety, 13 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for taxidermy 

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French taxidermie, from Greek táxis "order, arrangement" + dérma "skin" + French -ie -y entry 2 — more at taxis, -derm

Note: Coinage of French taxidermie has been attributed in recent references (as, for example, A. Scheersoi and S.D. Tunicliffe, editors, Natural History Dioramas—Traditional Exhibits for Current Educational Themes, Springer, 2019, p. 13) to the naturalist and taxidermist Louis Dufresne (1752-1832). Dufresne used the word in the title and text of an article in tome XXI of the Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle (Paris, An XI—1803): "taxidermie… des mots τάξις, ordre, arrangement, et δέρμα, peau" (p. 507; "taxidermy … from the words táxis, order, arrangement, and dérma, skin"). (Authorship of the article is attributed to Dufresne in a footnote by the dictionary's editor for ornithology, Louis Pierre Vieillot.) However, taxidermie appears three years earlier in a chapter of the Traité élémentaire et complet d'ornithologie by the zoologist François Marie Daudin (1776-1803), entitled "Sur l'art de taxidermie considéré par rapport aux Oiseaux; c'est-à-dire, sur l'art de dépouiller, de droguer, de conserver et de monter des Peaux des Oiseaux" (tome 1, Paris, 1800—An VIII, p. 439; "On the art of taxidermy considered in relationship to birds, or on the art of removing, treating, preserving and mounting the skins of birds"). Neither Daudin nor Dufresne give any indication that either was the originator of the word.

First Known Use

1820, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of taxidermy was in 1820

Dictionary Entries Near taxidermy

Taxidea

taxidermy

taxifolin

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Taxidermy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/taxidermy. Accessed 30 Nov. 2024.

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Kids Definition

taxidermy

noun
taxi·​der·​my ˈtak-sə-ˌdər-mē How to pronounce taxidermy (audio)
: the skill or occupation of preparing, stuffing, and mounting skins of animals
taxidermic
ˌtak-sə-ˈdər-mik How to pronounce taxidermy (audio)
adjective
Etymology

derived from Greek taxis "arrangement" and Greek derma "skin" and English -y, noun suffix

More from Merriam-Webster on taxidermy

Nglish: Translation of taxidermy for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about taxidermy

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