What does anthropology mean?

Definitions for anthropology
ˌæn θrəˈpɒl ə dʒian·thro·pol·o·gy

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word anthropology.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. anthropologynoun

    the social science that studies the origins and social relationships of human beings

GCIDE

  1. Anthropologynoun

    The science of man, including the study of the ditribution of physical and cultural attributes in relation to man's origin, location, history, and environment; -- sometimes used in a limited sense to mean the study of man as an object of natural history, or as an animal.

Wiktionary

  1. anthropologynoun

    The holistic scientific and social study of humanity, mainly using ethnography as its method.

  2. Etymology: From anthropo-, from ἄνθρωπος + -logy.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Anthropologynoun

    The doctrine of anatomy; the doctrine of the form and structure of the body of man.

    Etymology: from ἄνϑϱωπος, man, and λέγω, to discourse.

Wikipedia

  1. Anthropology

    Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavior, while cultural anthropology studies cultural meaning, including norms and values. A portmanteau term sociocultural anthropology is commonly used today. Linguistic anthropology studies how language influences social life. Biological or physical anthropology studies the biological development of humans.Archaeological anthropology, often termed as “anthropology of the past,” studies human activity through investigation of physical evidence. It is considered a branch of anthropology in North America and Asia, while in Europe archaeology is viewed as a discipline in its own right or grouped under other related disciplines, such as history and palaeontology.

ChatGPT

  1. anthropology

    Anthropology is the scientific and comprehensive study of human cultures, societies, behaviors, and developments. It examines various aspects of humans within past and present societies, and includes sub-fields such as cultural anthropology, social anthropology, biological or physical anthropology, archaeological anthropology, and linguistic anthropology. The goal is to understand the complexities of cultures across the world and throughout history to gain insights about the human condition and experience.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Anthropologynoun

    the science of the structure and functions of the human body

  2. Anthropologynoun

    the science of man; -- sometimes used in a limited sense to mean the study of man as an object of natural history, or as an animal

  3. Anthropologynoun

    that manner of expression by which the inspired writers attribute human parts and passions to God

  4. Etymology: [Gr. 'a`nqrwpos man + -logy.]

Wikidata

  1. Anthropology

    Anthropology is the "science of humanity." It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos, "man", understood to mean humankind or humanity, and -logia, "discourse" or "study." Since the work of Franz Boas and Bronisław Malinowski in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, anthropology has been distinguished from other social sciences by its emphasis on in-depth examination of context, cross-cultural comparisons, and the importance it places on participant-observation, or long-term, experiential immersion in the area of research. Cultural anthropology in particular has emphasized cultural relativism, holism, and the use of findings to frame cultural critiques. This has been particularly prominent in the United States, from Boas's arguments against 19th-century racial ideology, through Margaret Mead's advocacy for gender equality and sexual liberation, to current criticisms of post-colonial oppression and promotion of multiculturalism. Ethnography is one of its primary methods as well as the text that is generated from anthropological fieldwork. In the United States, the discipline is traditionally divided into four sub-fields: cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and biological anthropology. In Europe, the discipline originated as ethnology and was originally defined as the study of social organization in non-state societies. It was later renamed social anthropology. It is now sometimes referred to as sociocultural anthropology in most of Europe, the Commonwealth, and in the parts of the world that were influenced by the European tradition.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Anthropology

    an-throp-ol′oj-i, n. the science of man, more especially considered as a social animal: the natural history of man in its widest sense, treating of his relation to the brutes, his evolution, the different races, &c.—adj. Anthropolog′ical.—adv. Anthropolog′ically.—n. Anthropol′ogist, one versed in anthropology. [Gr. anthrōpos, man, and logos, discourse—legein, to say.]

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

  1. Anthropology

    the science of man as he exists or has existed under different physical and social conditions.

U.S. National Library of Medicine

  1. Anthropology

    The science devoted to the comparative study of man.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of anthropology in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of anthropology in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of anthropology in a Sentence

  1. Ruth Benedict:

    The purpose of anthropology is to make the world safe for human differences.

  2. Aleister Crowley:

    Men and women are not free to love decently until they have analyzed themselves completely and swept away every mystery from sex; and this means the acquisition of a profound philosophical theory based on wide reading of anthropology and enlightened practice.

  3. Alfred L. Kroeber:

    Anthropology is the most humanistic of the sciences and the most scientific of the humanities.

  4. The Argentine forensic report:

    Until now, the EAAF (Team of Argentine Forensic Anthropology) has not found scientific evidence to establish any link between the remains recovered in the Cocula dump and the missing students.

  5. Michael Brian Schiffer:

    Anthropology is the only discipline that can access evidence about the entire human experience on this planet.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

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"anthropology." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 4 Oct. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/anthropology>.

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