taxidermy

noun

taxi·​der·​my ˈtak-sə-ˌdər-mē 

: the art of preparing, stuffing, and mounting the skins of animals and especially vertebrates

taxidermic

ˌtak-sə-ˈdər-mik 

adjective

taxidermist

ˈtak-sə-ˌdər-mist 

noun

Examples of taxidermy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

An exploration of how taxidermy in museums has evolved over the years. —Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 3 Oct. 2024

Improbable poses, struck by working behind the scenes with contortionists, only heighten the palpable tension extended through an unusual use of taxidermy and foreboding landscapes that beg for a moment of release. —Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 18 Oct. 2024

The house, stuffed with bad taxidermy and ominous talismans, would be unwelcoming even without the jarring noises and phantom presences coming from behind that cellar door, which Peig herself believes to be a dangerous spiritual threshold. —Guy Lodge, Variety, 13 Aug. 2024

The infection was detected as it was being processed for taxidermy. —Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 14 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French taxidermie, from Greek táxis "order, arrangement" + dérma "skin" + French -ie -y entry 2 — more at taxis, -derm

Note: Coinage of French taxidermie has been attributed in recent references (as, for example, A. Scheersoi and S.D. Tunicliffe, editors, Natural History Dioramas—Traditional Exhibits for Current Educational Themes, Springer, 2019, p. 13) to the naturalist and taxidermist Louis Dufresne (1752-1832). Dufresne used the word in the title and text of an article in tome XXI of the Nouveau dictionnaire d'histoire naturelle (Paris, An XI—1803): "taxidermie… des mots τάξις, ordre, arrangement, et δέρμα, peau" (p. 507; "taxidermy … from the words táxis, order, arrangement, and dérma, skin"). (Authorship of the article is attributed to Dufresne in a footnote by the dictionary's editor for ornithology, Louis Pierre Vieillot.) However, taxidermie appears three years earlier in a chapter of the Traité élémentaire et complet d'ornithologie by the zoologist François Marie Daudin (1776-1803), entitled "Sur l'art de taxidermie considéré par rapport aux Oiseaux; c'est-à-dire, sur l'art de dépouiller, de droguer, de conserver et de monter des Peaux des Oiseaux" (tome 1, Paris, 1800—An VIII, p. 439; "On the art of taxidermy considered in relationship to birds, or on the art of removing, treating, preserving and mounting the skins of birds"). Neither Daudin nor Dufresne give any indication that either was the originator of the word.

First Known Use

1820, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

taxidermy

noun

taxi·​der·​my ˈtak-sə-ˌdər-mē 

: the skill or occupation of preparing, stuffing, and mounting skins of animals

taxidermic

ˌtak-sə-ˈdər-mik 

adjective

Etymology

derived from Greek taxis "arrangement" and Greek derma "skin" and English -y, noun suffix