# Anthropomorphic is to humans as ?? is to animals **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 25, 2019, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthropomorphic-is-to-humans-as-is-to-animals/839197 "2019-08-25T02:22:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthropomorphic-is-to-humans-as-is-to-animals/839197/1 "2019-08-25T02:22:48Z")
Anthropomorphic is used to refer to objects that look vaguely human. Is there an analogous word for objects that look vaguely like animals? GE ran an ad for a [GE walking truck](http://jeffersonsopinions.blogspot.com/2011/05/us-military-had-at-at-before-george.html) that made it look like a skeleton of an animal with the headlights in the position of eyes. Yes, Lucas really did use it as inspiration. The walking truck didn’t look like a beastie from any other angle, just in this one ad. What’s the word that would describe it? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthropomorphic-is-to-humans-as-is-to-animals/839197/2 "2019-08-25T02:31:14Z")
Small nitpick – although “anthropomorphic” is comprised of the Greek roots “anthropos” (human) and “morphe” (form), I think its more precise usage is not so much “looks human-like” but rather the idea of attributing human traits to something. Anyway, on the same etymology I think the word you want is “zoomorphic”. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthropomorphic-is-to-humans-as-is-to-animals/839197/3 "2019-08-25T03:18:51Z")
Yeah, that’s the formal dictionary definition, but I’ve seen the use extended to appearance as well. Human-looking robots are often termed anthropomorphic. Zoomorphic was what I was looking for, so thanks. Poking around a bit I find that anthropomorphous is the proper word for “ascribing human form or attributes to a being or thing not human.” [Virtually nobody](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Anthropomorphous%2C+Anthropomorphic&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2CAnthropomorphous%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CAnthropomorphic%3B%2Cc0#t1%3B%2CAnthropomorphous%3B%2Cc0%3B.t1%3B%2CAnthropomorphic%3B%2Cc0) ever uses that term, though. I looked for zoomorphous but that didn’t come up in Google. Apparently the closest word is [Zoomorphism](https://literarydevices.net/zoomorphism/). > [@](#): > > Zoomorphism is a derivative of the Greek words zōon, which means “animal,” and morphē, which means “form,” or “shape.” It is a literary technique in which animal attributes are imposed upon non-animal objects, humans, and events; and animal features are ascribed to humans, gods, and other objects. I may just coin zoomorphous and get the Google hit. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthropomorphic-is-to-humans-as-is-to-animals/839197/4 "2019-08-25T05:40:56Z")
Of course those nuances pale in comparison to references I often see to “anthropomorphic” climate change. I suppose it’s accurate if one believes that a rainy day indicates that the climate is unhappy, and a hurricane means the climate is very, very angry! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![EdelweissPirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8491ac/32.png) [@EdelweissPirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EdelweissPirate)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2019, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anthropomorphic-is-to-humans-as-is-to-animals/839197/5 "2019-08-25T08:15:38Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Of course those nuances pale in comparison to references I often see to “anthropomorphic” climate change. I suppose it’s accurate if one believes that a rainy day indicates that the climate is unhappy, and a hurricane means the climate is very, very angry! 😃 I usually hear climate change described not as anthropomorphic but rather anthropogenic. I strongly suspect that those calling climate change “anthropomorphic” are trying—and failing—to reproduce what they heard, which was “anthropogenic.”