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

Bischoff’s specializes in a form of hybrid taxidermy, incorporating traditional techniques with the more new-fangled freeze-drying process. —Jessie Schiewe, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2025

His taxidermy even included the odd woodpecker, parrot, and penguin. —Natalie Krebs, Outdoor Life, 10 Apr. 2025

Curio shops may sell items ranging from vintage taxidermy and unusual natural specimens to antique medical instruments and historical artifacts. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Apr. 2025

The mounts’ recipients will display the animals where they can’t be touched — likely behind glass — and have experts and equipment to care for the taxidermy, DePaolo told the AP. —Christine Rousselle, Fox News, 15 Feb. 2025

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

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

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