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Where does the word "anatomy" come from? It comes from Greek anatome, and was adopted directly into English (1500s).
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Where does the word "anatomy" come from? It comes from Greek anatome, and was adopted directly into English (1500s).
Anatomy’s story begins in Greek: anatome meant “dissection, cutting apart.” Literally a cutting-up, from dissecting bodies to study them. It reached English by 1500s as anatomy. Adopted for the scientific study of bodily structure. Today, anatomy means the bodily structure of an organism, or the study of it.
- Stage 1 · Greek · ancient anatome "dissection, cutting apart", literally a cutting-up, from dissecting bodies to study them.
- Stage 2 · English · 1500s anatomy "the structure of an organism", adopted for the scientific study of bodily structure.