Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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, and economy; dissection.
2. The science which treats of the structure of organic
bodies; anatomical structure or organization.
Let the muscles be well inserted and bound together,
according to the knowledge of them which is given us
by anatomy. --Dryden.
Note: ``Animal anatomy'' is sometimes called {zomy};
``vegetable anatomy,'' {phytotomy}; ``human anatomy,''
{anthropotomy}.
{Comparative anatomy} compares the structure of different
kinds and classes of animals.
3. A treatise or book on anatomy.
4. The act of dividing anything, corporeal or intellectual,
for the purpose of examining its parts; analysis; as, the
anatomy of a discourse.
5. A skeleton; anything anatomized or dissected, or which has
the appearance of being so.
The anatomy of a little child, representing all
parts thereof, is accounted a greater rarity than
the skeleton of a man in full stature. --Fuller.
They brought one Pinch, a hungry, lean-faced
villain, A mere anatomy. --Shak.
Source : WordNet®
anatomy
n 1: the branch of morphology that deals with the structure of
animals [syn: {general anatomy}]
2: alternative names for the body of a human being; "Leonardo
studied the human body"; "he has a strong physique"; "the
spirit is willing but the flesh is weak" [syn: {human body},
{physical body}, {material body}, {soma}, {build}, {figure},
{physique}, {shape}, {bod}, {chassis}, {frame}, {form}, {flesh}]
3: a detailed analysis; "he studied the anatomy of crimes"