Taxidermy is the craft of preparing the skins of dead animals and birds and filling them with a special material to make them look as if they are alive.
taxidermy in British English
(ˈtæksɪˌdɜːmɪ)
noun
the art or process of preparing, stuffing, and mounting animal skins so that they have a lifelike appearance
Derived forms
taxidermal (ˌtaxiˈdermal) or taxidermic (ˌtaxiˈdermic)
adjective
taxidermist (ˈtaxiˌdermist)
noun
Word origin
C19: from Greek taxis arrangement + -dermy, from Greek derma skin
taxidermy in American English
(ˈtæksɪˌdɜrmi)
noun
the art of preparing, stuffing, and mounting the skins of animals, so as to create lifelike replicas
Derived forms
taxidermic (ˌtaxiˈdermic)
adjective
taxidermist (ˈtaxiˌdermist)
noun
Word origin
< Gr taxis (see taxi noun) + derma, skin
Examples of 'taxidermy' in a sentence
taxidermy
But the taxidermy art gives me the shudders.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Interestingly enough there was an old stuffed bird sitting over in one corner, a poor example of the taxidermy art.
Christianity Today (2000)
I suspect this puts natural limits to a small renaissance, noted in our pages yesterday, in the art of taxidermy.