Dictionary

anatomize en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /əˈnætəmaɪz/ (Received-Pronunciation)
• (General-American) audio
• (Southern-England) audio
• [-ɾə-] (General-American)
• /əˈnætəmaɪz/ (General-American)

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 anatomizō, from Latin anatomia (“anatomy”) + -izō. Anatomia is derived from ἀνατομή (anatomḗ, “act of cutting up, dissection”) + -ia (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns); ἀνατομή (anatomḗ) is from ἀνᾰτέμνω (anătémnō, “to cut open”) (from ᾰ̓νᾰ- (ănă-, “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).

Meanings

1. (British, English, Oxford, US, archaic, transitive) 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? 1592, Tho[mas] Nashe, “To the Gentlemen Readers”, in Strange Newes, of the Intercepting Certaine Letters and a Convoy of Verses, […], London: […] Iohn Danter, […], →OCLC, signature B, verso:
   • He did not care the least about Fanny now: he wondered how he ever should have cared: and according to his custom made an autopsy of that dead passion, and anatomised his own defunct sensation for his poor little nurse. 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, “Convalescence”, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume II, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1850, →OCLC, page 139:
   • VVell my dear I'll provide for thy going off hovvever: let me ſee! you'll only have occaſion for a Noſegay, a pair of VVhite Gloves, and a Coffin: look you, take you no care about the Surgeons, you ſhall not be Anatomiz'd— […] 1700 (date written), Colley Cibber, Love Makes a Man: Or, The Fop’s Fortune. A Comedy. […], London: […] Richard Parker […], Hugh Newman […], and E. Rumbal […], published 1701, →OCLC, Act V, page 55:
   • [A]bout him lay the carkaſſes of many ſeuerall beaſts, nevvly by him cut vp and Anatomiſed, […] 1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Democritus Iunior to the Reader”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy, […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, page 5:
   • Then let them anotomize Regan, ſee vvhat breeds about her / Hart[,] is there any cauſe in nature that makes this hardnes, […] c. 1603–1606 (date written), [William Shakespeare], […] His True Chronicle Historie of the Life and Death of King Lear and His Three Daughters. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Nathaniel Butter, […], published 1608, →OCLC, [Act III, scene vi], signature [G4], recto:
2. (British, English, Oxford, US, archaic, transitive) To cut up or dissect (the body of a human being or an animal), specifically for the purpose of investigating its anatomy. ▸ To punish (someone) by post mortem dissection following execution.
   • […] Surgeon's Hall, where malefactors were anatomised after execution—a Sanguinary but Salutary custom—was in the Old Bailey, over against the leads of the Sessions House […] 1863, George Augustus Sala, “Of Certain Ticklish Ups and Downs in My Life: Amongst Others of My Being Pressed for Service in the Fleet”, in The Strange Adventures of Captain Dangerous: […], volume II, London: Tinsley Brothers, […], →OCLC, page 224:
3. (British, English, Oxford, US, archaic, transitive) To cut up or dissect (a plant or one of its parts) to investigate its structure.
4. (British, English, Oxford, US, archaic, figuratively, transitive) To scrutinize (something) down to the most minute detail.
   • It is ſaid of ſtony ground, that the ſeed that fell among ſtones, are they that receive the vvord vvith joy (there is their delight to hear) but not having deep root, in times of perſecution fell avvay [Matthew 13:20–21]. Here the Scripture Anatomizeth a man, that he may hear the vvord vvith joy ſometimes, vvhen the current of the times run for Religion, vvhen the vvord comes in faſhion among a people; but if perſecution ſhould attend the vvord, and a priſon attend hearing, you vvould then ſee hovv flag their delights vvould be in hearing the vvord: […] a. 1652 (date written; published 1653), Christopher Love, “Sermon VI. 2. Pet[er] 1. 10.”, in Edmund Calamy [the Elder], Jeremiah Whitaker, Simon Ashe, William Taylor, Allen Geere, editors, A Treatise of Effectual Calling and Election. In XVI. Sermons, on 2 Peter 1. 10. […], London: […] John Rothwell […], published 1655, →OCLC, paragraph 3, page 79:
   • [I]f a poor Country Gentlevvoman fall vvithin their circuit, vvhat a ſtock of mirth does ſhe afford them, hovv curiouſly do they anatomiſe every part of her dreſs, her meen, her dialect, […] 1673, [Richard Allestree], “Sect[ion] IV. Of Affability.”, in The Ladies Calling. […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: Printed at the [Sheldonian] Theatre, →OCLC, part I, page 79:
   • But if thou takeſt a more particular Survey of the dreadful Object, anatomiſeſt and vievveſt it Piece by Piece, thou vvilt find, that the greateſt Part of vvhat diſmay'd thee, had no other Exiſtence than in thy ovvn Imagination. 1727, Thomas Fuller, compiler, Introductio ad Prudentiam: Or, Directions, Counsels, and Cautions, Tending to Prudent Management of Affairs in Common Life. The Second Part. […], London: […] [William Bowyer] for Stephen Austen […], →OCLC, paragraph 3027, page 174:
   • If Mrs. Noakes knew how unsparingly she was anatomised, then she possessed more fortitude of character than either Mira or her daughter ever diagnosed, for despite her initial resistance to Shelley's sudden change of course, and despite her frequent sharing of career vacancy advertisements 'just to give you a sense of what's out there', Mrs Noakes had really come around to Birnam Wood; in fact, it pained Shelley to admit, when her mother spoke about it now, it was with real pride and admiration. 2023, Eleanor Catton, Birnam Wood […], [Toronto, Ont.]: McClelland & Stewart, →ISBN, pages 15–16:
   • I am not one of those who anatomise their own married happiness for the edification of the whole public, and make fame, if not money, out of their own wives' hearts. 1857, Charles Kingsley, “The Recognition”, in Two Years Ago, volume I, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Macmillan and Co., →OCLC, page 251:
   • Near-synonyms: atomize, analyze
   • 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. c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii], pages 246–247:
   • There are people, vvho have ſplit and anatomiſed the doctrine of free Government, as if it vvere an abſtract queſtion concerning metaphyſical liberty and neceſſity; and not a matter of moral prudence and natural feeling. 1777, Edmund Burke, A Letter from Edmund Burke, Esq; One of the Representatives in Parliament for the City of Bristol, to John Farr and John Harris, Esqrs, Sheriffs of that City, on the Affairs of America, London: […] J[ames] Dodsley, […], →OCLC, page 53:
   • 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. c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene i], page 186, column 1, lines 130–132:
   • In the precedent Subſections, I haue anatomiſed thoſe inferiour Faculties of the Soule; the Rationall remaineth, a pleaſant, but a doubtfull Subiect, as one termes it, and vvith the like brevity to be diſcuſſed. 1621, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Of the Rationall Soule”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy, […], Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and Iames Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 1, section 1, member 2, subsection 9, page 39:
   • VVhen Evil ſurprizes us, vve commonly affright our ſelves, by beholding it in its groſs Bulk; our ſcattered Spirits, are aſtoniſhed at an Infinite Bugbear. VVhereas, if vve take a more particular Survey of the dreadful Object, anatomize and vievv it Piece by Piece; vve find, that the greateſt part of vvhat ſo diſmay'd us, had no other Exiſtence, than in our ovvn Imagination. 1691, Giovanni Paolo Marana, “Letter XXXV. To the Venerable Mufti.”, in [William Bradshaw], transl., edited by [Robert Midgley], The Second Volume of Letters Writ by a Turkish Spy, who Lived Five and Forty Years, Undiscover’d, at Paris: […], volume II, London: […] J. Leake, for Henry Rhodes, […], →OCLC, pages 352–353:
   • He ſeems to have read a great deal of French criticiſm, and vvants to make it his ovvn; as if he had been for years anatomiſing the heart of man, and peeping into every cranny of it. 1791, James Boswell, quoting Samuel Johnson, “[1769]”, in James Boswell, editor, The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. […], volume I, London: […] Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, […], →OCLC, page 319:
   • [O]ne ſhould reade all the Topographers that ever vvrit of, or anatomiz'd a Tovvn or Countrey, and mingle Diſcourſe vvith the moſt exact obſervers of the Government thereof, and labour to dravv out of them all they poſſibly knovv or can remember; […] 1642, James Howell, “Section I”, in Instructions for Forreine Travell. […], London: […] T. B. for Humprey Mosley [i.e., Humphrey Moseley] […], →OCLC, page 5:
5. (British, English, Oxford, US, archaic, figuratively, obsolete, transitive) To chemically analyse (a substance).
   • Laſtly, it can not be othervviſe but that the fire, in all this vvhile of continuall application to the body it thus anatomiſeth, hath hardned and as it vvere roſted ſome partes into ſuch greatneſſe and dryneſſe as they vvill not fly, not can be carried vp vvith any moderate heate. 1644, Kenelme [i.e., Kenelm] Digby, “Of the Dissolution of Mixed Bodies”, in Two Treatises. In the One of which, the Nature of Bodies; in the Other, the Nature of Mans Soule; is Looked into: In Way of Discovery, of the Immortality of Reasonable Soules, Paris: […] Gilles Blaizot, →OCLC, 1st treatise (Declaring the Nature and Operations of Bodies), paragraph 6, page 135:
   • Tell me, philosopher, thou who arrogatest to thyself the proud name, and who callest the cloud a vapour, and anatomizest the free and ambient air into thy wretched hydrogen and nitrogen,—tell me, dost thou know what it is to shed the tear of rapture, or indulge the sweet pain of romance? 1835, [John George Hamilton Bourne], chapter XII, in The Picture: And the Prosperous Man. […], volume I, London: James Cochrane and Co., […], →OCLC, page 268:
6. (British, English, Oxford, US, archaic, intransitive) 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. 1831 October 31, Mary W[ollstonecraft] Shelley, chapter II, in Frankenstein: Or, The Modern Prometheus (Standard Novels; IX), 3rd edition, London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, […], →OCLC, pages 26–27:
   • He [John Keats] was a youth of energy and purpose, and though he no doubt penned many a stanza when he should have been anatomizing, and walked the hospitals accompanied by the early gods, nevertheless passed a very creditable examination in 1817. 1876, James Russell Lowell, “Keats”, in Among My Books. Second Series., Boston, Mass.: James R[ipley] Osgood and Company, late Ticknor & Fields, and Fields, Osgood, & Co., →OCLC, page 308:
   • 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! 1873 January 23, Robert Browning, “Part IV”, in Red Cotton Night-Cap Country: Or Turf and Towers, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC, page 231:

Forms

Deriveds

anatomiser · anatomization · unanatomizable · unanatomised · unanatomisable · unanatomized · anatomizer · anatomisation

Synonyms

atomize · analyze

Translations (9)

fi leikellä (to cut up or dissect (a plant or one of its parts) to investigate its structure) · ru анатоми́ровать ((transitive) to cut up or dissect (the body of a human being or an animal); (intransitive) to cut up or dissect the body of a human being or an animal — see also dissect) · fi leikellä ((transitive) to cut up or dissect (the body of a human being or an animal); (intransitive) to cut up or dissect the body of a human being or an animal — see also dissect) · az yarmaq ((transitive) to cut up or dissect (the body of a human being or an animal); (intransitive) to cut up or dissect the body of a human being or an animal — see also dissect) · fr anatomiser ((transitive) to cut up or dissect (the body of a human being or an animal); (intransitive) to cut up or dissect the body of a human being or an animal — see also dissect) · pt anatomizar (to scrutinize (something) down to the most minute detail — see also scrutinize) · ru разанатоми́ровать ((transitive) to cut up or dissect (the body of a human being or an animal); (intransitive) to cut up or dissect the body of a human being or an animal — see also dissect) · fi eritellä (to scrutinize (something) down to the most minute detail — see also scrutinize) · pt anatomizar ((transitive) to cut up or dissect (the body of a human being or an animal); (intransitive) to cut up or dissect the body of a human being or an animal — see also dissect)