n. pl. a·nat·o·mies 1. The bodily structure of a plant or an animal or of any of its parts. 2. The science of the shape and structure of organisms and their parts. 3. A treatise on anatomic science. 4. Dissection of a plant or animal to study the structure, position, and interrelation of its various parts. 5. A skeleton. 6. The human body. 7. A detailed examination or analysis: the anatomy of a crime. [Middle English anatomie, from Late Latin anatomia, from Greek anatomē, dissection : ana-, ana- + tomē, a cutting (from temnein, to cut; see tem- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots).] |
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