taxonomyn.
/takˈsɒnəmi/, U.S. /tækˈsɑnəmi/ 1. Classification, esp. in relation to its general laws or principles; that department of science, or of a particular science or subject, which consists of or relates to classification; esp. the systematic classification of living organisms.
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the world > life > biology > taxonomy > [noun]
taxonomy1819
taxology1848
taxinomy1865
systematy1891
1819 Brit. Rev. Aug. 42 It [sc. de Candolle's Theorie Elem.] is divided into three parts, the theory of classification or vegetable taxonomy,..and lastly the knowledge of terms or botanical glossology.
1832 Encycl. Brit. V. 70/2 Taxonomy is that branch of botany which has for its object the combination of all our observations on plants, so as to form a system or classification.
1852 J. D. Dana U.S. Exploring Exped.: Crustacea Pt. I 59 The long posterior legs of certain Maioid species have been allowed to have the same value in Taxonomy.
1897 Bot. Gaz. 24 172 We are warranted in strenuously urging a conformity of taxonomy with phylogeny.
1927 Amer. Mercury May 84/2 One of the oldest branches of the science, taxonomy or systematics—the study of the relationships and kinds of living animals—has come to be almost entirely the province of museum workers.
1942 Amer. Antiq. 8 30 The material called Mogollon is very similar generally to that called Anasazi... Whether they are comprised under one head as subdivisions of ‘Puebloan’ or are referred to as two separate developments is a matter of taxonomy.
1972 Nature 28 Apr. 469/2 The contributors are leading specialists in umbellifer taxonomy.
2006 J. T. Costa Other Insect Societies iii. 65 Alpha taxonomy is often revised as much as higher-level classification.
2. A classification of something; a particular system of classification.
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1835 Edinb. Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 44 220 Of those who have felt it requisite to impugn the taxonomy of our learned dermato-pathologist, Dr Green is..perhaps the most justly entitled to attention.
1891 Bull. U.S. Geol. Surv. No. 82. 17 The taxonomy of formations embraces not only their systematic arrangement in chronological order, but also their characterization and delimitation.
1951 G. H. M. Lawrence Taxon. Vascular Plants i. 3 In this text the taxonomy of vascular plants includes the systematics of the taxa known as pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms.
1967 R. Fox Kinship & Marriage 50 Anyone trying to understand the subject has to fight his way through half a dozen conflicting taxonomies each with its patchy, ad hoc terminology.
1972 Sci. Amer. Jan. 116/3 His taxonomy of bridge structures before the age of steel and concrete.
2009 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 11 Aug. d1/1 Creating what are called folk taxonomies, anthropologists began to realize that..they followed highly stereotyped patterns.
Derivatives
taˈxonomer n. now rare = taxonomist n.
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the world > life > biology > taxonomy > [noun] > system of > proponent of
systematic1662
systematist1700
systemist1714
methodist1753
taxonomist1835
lumper1857
taxonomer1881
splitter1887
taxinomist1899
cytotaxonomist1937
biosystematist1943
pheneticist1965
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > branch of knowledge > systematic knowledge, science > [noun] > scientist > concerned with structure or classification
taxonomist1835
morphologist1845
homologist1849
taxonomer1881
taxinomist1899
1881 Spectator 9 Apr. 480/2 He was able to make intelligible the relations between them, relations that hitherto perplexed all taxonomers.
1897 Naturalist 94 One instance wherein the author differs from most recent taxonomers.
1993 D. Malin View of Universe v. 111 Unfortunately for astronomical taxonomers, not all isolated dark clouds with bright rims can be swept neatly into the cometary globule category.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1819