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anatomize

verb
/əˈnætəmaɪz/UK/əˈnætəmaɪz/US

Etymology

From Late Middle English anatomisen, anatomien, anatomen (“to dissect in order to investigate”) borrowed from Middle French anatomiser (modern French anatomiser), or from its etymon Medieval Latin anatomizāre, from Latin anatomia (“anatomy”) + -izāre (the present active infinitive of -izō (suffix forming similative verbs)), modelled after a supposed Ancient Greek *ἀνατομίζειν (*anatomízein). Anatomia is derived from Ancient Greek *ἀνατομία (*anatomía) (known only through a quotation in a Latin text), from ἀνατομή (anatomḗ, “act of cutting up, dissection”) + -ῐ́ᾱ (-ĭ́ā, suffix forming feminine abstract nouns); ἀνατομή (anatomḗ) is from ἀνᾰτέμνω (anătémnō, “to cut open”) (from ᾰ̓νᾰ- (ănă-, prefix meaning ‘up’) + τέμνω (témnō, “to cut, hew; to butcher”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- (“to cut”))) + -η (-ē, suffix forming action nouns). By surface analysis, anatomy + -ize (suffix forming (chiefly similative) verbs).

  1. derived from *temh₁-✻ — “to cut”
  2. derived from *ἀνατομία✻
  3. derived from anatomia — “anatomy”
  4. derived from anatomizāre
  5. derived from anatomiser
  6. inherited from anatomisen

Definitions

  1. To cut up or dissect (the body of a human being or an animal), specifically for the…

    To cut up or dissect (the body of a human being or an animal), specifically for the purpose of investigating its anatomy.

    • VVho but a Foppe vvil labour to anatomize a Flye?
    • Then let them anotomize Regan, ſee vvhat breeds about her / Hart[,] is there any cauſe in nature that makes this hardnes, […]
    • [A]bout him lay the carkaſſes of many ſeuerall beaſts, nevvly by him cut vp and Anatomiſed, […]

  2. To cut up or dissect (a plant or one of its parts) to investigate its structure.

  3. To scrutinize (something) down to the most minute detail.

    • Near-synonyms: atomize, analyze
    • I ſpeake but brotherly of him, but ſhould I anathomize him to thee, as hee is, I muſt bluſh, and vveepe, and thou muſt look pale and vvonder.
    • I vvould gladly haue him ſee his company anathomiz'd, that hee might take a meaſure of his ovvne iudgements, vvherein ſo curiouſly he had ſet this counterfeit.
  4. ›+ 2 more definitions

    1. To chemically analyse (a substance).

    2. To cut up or dissect the body of a human being or an animal.

      • The most learned philosopher […] might dissect, anatomise, and give names; but, not to speak of a final cause, causes in their secondary and tertiary grades were utterly unknown to him.
      • Impiety? Not if I know myself! / Not if you know the heart and soul, I bare, / I bid you cut, hack, slash, anatomize, / Till peccant part be found and flung away!

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for anatomize. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA