Anthropometrical

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Concerning the scientific evaluation of human body measurements and their variations
2. Involving the systematic analysis of bodily dimensions to understand human physical characteristics
3. Pertaining to the study or practice of assessing various physical measurements of the human form

Etymology: "Anthropometrical" is the adjective form of "anthropometry," the measurement of the human body, and it is built in the plainest way: "anthropometry" plus the adjectival suffix "-ical." The base word is itself a compound of Greek roots, "anthropos" meaning "human being" and "metron" meaning "measure," so the whole chain is a modern scientific construction assembled from classical parts rather than a term that existed in antiquity. The suffix "-ical" does the grammatical work here. It attaches to nouns ending in "-y" or "-ic" to produce adjectives, so "anthropometry" becomes "anthropometrical" in the same way "geometry" becomes "geometrical." The two forms are close in meaning, and the longer one is often chosen when a writer wants to stress the technical or measuring aspect of a subject, as in "anthropometrical data" or "anthropometrical studies."

Synonyms: anthropometric