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taxonomy

 - 6 dictionary results

tax⋅on⋅o⋅my

[tak-son-uh-mee]
–noun
1. the science or technique of classification.
2. Biology. the science dealing with the description, identification, naming, and classification of organisms.

Origin:
1805–15; F taxonomie. See taxo-, -nomy


tax⋅o⋅nom⋅ic [tak-suh-nom-ik] , tax⋅o⋅nom⋅i⋅cal, adjective
tax⋅o⋅nom⋅i⋅cal⋅ly, adverb
tax⋅on⋅o⋅mist, tax⋅on⋅o⋅mer, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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tax·on·o·my   (tāk-sŏn'ə-mē)   
n.   pl. tax·on·o·mies
  1. The classification of organisms in an ordered system that indicates natural relationships.

  2. The science, laws, or principles of classification; systematics.

  3. Division into ordered groups or categories: "Scholars have been laboring to develop a taxonomy of young killers" (Aric Press).


[French taxonomie : Greek taxis, arrangement; see taxis + -nomie, method (from Greek -nomiā; see -nomy).]
tax·on'o·mist n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cultural Dictionary

taxonomy [(tak-son-uh-mee)]

The classification of living things. (See Linnean classification.)

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

taxonomy 
1828, from Fr. taxonomie (1813), introduced by Linnæus and coined irregularly from Gk. taxis "arrangement" (see taxidermy) + -nomia "method," from -nomos "managing," from nemein "manage" (see numismatics).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: tax·on·o·my
Pronunciation: tak-'sän-&-mE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -mies
1 : the study of the general principles of scientific classification : SYSTEMATICS
2 : orderlyclassification of plants and animals according to their presumed natural relationships
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

taxonomy tax·on·o·my (tāk-sŏn'ə-mē)
n.

  1. The classification of organisms in an ordered system that indicates natural relationships.

  2. The science, laws, or principles of classification; systematics.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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