taxonomy Definition
tax·ono·my (tak sän′ə mē)
noun pl. -·mies
- the science of classification; laws and principles covering the classifying of objects
- Biol. a system of arranging animals and plants into natural, related groups based on some factor common to each, as structure, embryology, or biochemistry: the basic taxa now in use are, in descending order from most inclusive, kingdom, phylum (in botany, division), class, order, family, genus, and species
Etymology: Fr taxonomie < Gr taxis (see taxis) + nomos, law (see -nomy)
taxonomy Related Forms
tax′o·nom′ic (-sə näm′ik) adjective
tax′o·nom′i·cally adverb
tax·on′o·mist noun
taxonomy Usage Examples
Preposition: of
- genus: At present his main research interest is in the family Sterculiaceae, in particular the taxonomy of the tropical tree genus Scaphium.
- objective: Taxonomy of educational objectives: the classification of educational goals.
- error: Long term priority: - Developing a taxonomy of error in primary care.
- bird: The taxonomy of Cuban birds is still in a state of flux!
- type: Indeed, his document started with a comprehensive taxonomy of question types.
- group: The taxonomy of this group of organisms, which has changed frequently over the years, appears to be quite complex.
Converse of object
- propose: Ben began to construct a proposed taxonomy of the methods being used for energy conscious building design.
- develop: Long term priority: - Developing a taxonomy of error in primary care.
- define: It is a model that, in business terms, helps define a taxonomy of learning to develop managers.
- create: Researchers Judy Burton, Rob Horowitz, and Hal Abeles created a taxonomy of learning in the arts and investigated the effects on learning.
- produce: He stressed that no-one has produced a full taxonomy for a firm yet!
- present: We present a taxonomy of such rules, together with examples of specific negotiation mechanisms.
Adjective modifier
- numerical: In particular the paper links to the use of numerical taxonomy within the natural sciences where similar techniques have met with considerable success.
- rational: A post-Darwinian rational taxonomy based on the structuralism of process.
- biological: Species are the smallest unit of biological taxonomy, and are grouped together with similar species to form a genus.
- multiple: This approach in essence maintains multiple taxonomies over a set of objects.
- detailed: Includes fact sheets, FAQ's and detailed taxonomy with superb images.
- comprehensive: Indeed, his document started with a comprehensive taxonomy of question types.
Noun used with modifier
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