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Taxonomy

[tak-SAH-nə-mee]

Part of speech: noun

Origin: French, 19th century

1.

The branch of science concerned with classification, especially of organisms; systematics.

2.

The classification of something, especially organisms.

Examples of Taxonomy in a sentence

"Animal taxonomy moves from general to specific characteristics."

"In order to pass her botany examination, Kelly had to have familiarity with plant taxonomy."

About Taxonomy

Taxonomy came into French use via Greek — specifically, a combination of the Greek words “taxis” (arrangement) + “nomia” (distribution).

Did you Know?

While taxonomy can be used to describe the general classification of something, it is most often used to describe living organisms. Biologists classify these groups into Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species, with each subsequent classification growing more specific. For example, a dog can be classified as Eukarya, Animalia, Chordata, Mammalia, Carnivora, Canidae, Canis, and Lupus.

illustration Taxonomy

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