Etymograph

English

anatomism

Anatomism comes from Latin anatomia ‘anatomy’, from Ancient Greek ἀνατομή ‘a cutting up, especially of an animal or…’, and ultimately from ἀνατέμνω ‘to cut open’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀνατέμνωanatémnō‘to cut open’
  2. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἀνατομήanatomḗ‘a cutting up, especially of an animal or person, mutilation, dissection’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanatomia‘anatomy’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400anatomie
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘anatomy’
  6. English1500–presentanatomy
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1878anatomism

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀνατέμνωanatémnō‘to cut open’
  2. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἀνατομήanatomḗ‘a cutting up, especially of an animal or person, mutilation, dissection’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEanatomia‘anatomy’
  4. Old Frenchc. 842–1400anatomie
  5. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500same form‘anatomy’
  6. English1500–presentanatomy
  7. Englishearliest quotation 1878anatomism

Earliest quotation: 1878, TUESDAY, April 27, 1878: “The stretched and vivid anatomism of their great figure…”

A compound of ᾰ̓νᾰ́ ‘[with genitive] (rare) on board’ + ἀνα- + τέμνω ‘to cut’

Proto-Indo-European *h₂en- ‘on, onto’

Proto-Hellenic *aná ‘up, upon’

Ancient Greek ᾰ̓νᾰ́ ‘[with genitive] (rare) on board’

Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- ‘to cut’

Proto-Indo-European *tm̥-né-h₁-ti

Ancient Greek τέμνω ‘to cut’

Linked words

through English anatomy

neuroanatomy, 11 more

Another origin of anatomism

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*temh₁-‘to cut’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*tm̥-né-h₁-tireconstructed
  3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEτέμνωtémnō‘to cut’
  4. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCE*τομόςtomós‘cutting, sharp’reconstructed
  5. Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEἄτομοςátomos‘indivisible, not capable of being cut/divided into smaller pieces’
  6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEatomus‘an atom, particle incapable of being divided’
  7. Middle Frenchc. 1400–1600athome‘atom’
  8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500attome‘atom’
  9. English1500–presentatom
  10. Englishtodayanatomism

Today it means

noun The application of the principles of anatomy, as in art.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek ἀνατέμνω / anatomism

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