noun
taxidermy
TAK-sih-dur-mee/ˈtæksɪdɜːrmi/
The craft of preserving dead animals in lifelike form.
The museum uses taxidermy to display animals in lifelike poses.
Etymology
“Arrangement” and “skin” describe the craft’s central operation: preparing and mounting an animal’s skin in a form resembling the living animal, preserving its appearance for display.
In context
I was intrigued by taxidermy and the whole process of skinning an animal and preserving it to make a piece of taxidermy, even though my day job at the time was to care for the living.
More examples
- She studies taxidermy to learn how to preserve animal skins.
- Good taxidermy captures an animal's natural posture.
- His taxidermy workshop contains several unfinished deer mounts.
Forms
taxidermy
taxidermist noun — A person who preserves animals in lifelike form.
Similar words
- preservation
- A broader term for preventing decay, without requiring lifelike display.
- mounting
- The shaping and display stage, rather than the whole craft.