taxidermy

1 of 2

noun (1)

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

taxidermist

2 of 2

noun (2)

tax·​i·​der·​mist

plural -s

: one who practices taxidermy

Did you know?

Taxidermists are called on not only by sportsmen and collectors but by museums, movie studios, and advertisers. Taxidermists first remove the skin (with its fur, hair, or feathers), then create a plaster cast of the carcass with which to produce a "mannequin", on which they replace the skin. Producing trophies of lifelike quality that often recreate an exciting moment requires physical skill, attention to detail, and sometimes artistic talent.

Examples of taxidermy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Responding to an ad in the newspaper puts Bernie in contact with Comer’s Araminta, a loner whose ultimate dream is to embalm a human body as the crown jewel of her taxidermy collection, which includes all sorts of fauna. — Zachary Lee, IndieWire, 16 Sep. 2026

Unlike traditional taxidermy, preservation uses freeze-drying to capture a moment in time and maintains your pet primarily in their organic form. — Yvonne Villasenor, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2026

The space is filled with maximalist Americana and fishing-cabin kitsch, including taxidermy fish and woodland animals and vintage beer signs. — Usa Today Network, USA Today, 29 July 2026

Norway's striker Erling Braut Haaland carries a taxidermy raccoon at Oslo's Gardermoen Airport on Monday. — Reuters, NBC news, 14 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

borrowed from French taxidermie, from Greek táxis "order, arrangement" + dérma "skin" + French -ie -y entry 2 — more at taxis entry 1, -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

Noun (1)

1820, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for taxidermy

• diathermy
• wormy

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

Noun

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