Anthropometric

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌænθɹəpəˈmɛtɹɪk/

Definitions

1. Concerning the methodical measurement of human body dimensions, involving the analysis of physical traits in relation to size and shape, and encompassing data regarding human proportions and characteristics
2. Pertaining to the systematic study and recording of physical measurements of the human body
3. Concerning the scientific measurement and analysis of various body size and shape aspects

Etymology: Anthropometry is the older word, and "anthropometric" is simply the adjective built from it by adding the suffix "-ic", which turns a noun into a descriptive term. The suffix has a long ancestry: it descends from a Proto-Indo-European root and reached Latin as "-icus", passed into Old French as "-ique", and entered Middle English as "-ik" before settling into the modern "-ic" ending. Its job here is to say "relating to" whatever the base noun names, so an anthropometric study is one concerned with anthropometry. The base word itself is built from Greek. "Anthropos" meant "human being" and "metron" meant "measure," and the two combined give the sense of measuring the human body. Because anthropometry is a compound of these Greek elements, the adjective inherits a plainly technical meaning: it describes the careful recording of human dimensions and proportions rather than anything about people in a general sense.