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Glite Dictionary
animal order

animal order

5.8
A group of related animals larger than a family and smaller than a class
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : orden animal
  • The domestic cat belongs to the animal order Carnivora.

Examples

  • Primates is an animal order that includes monkeys, apes, and humans.

  • The animal order Carnivora includes lions and tigers.

  • Scientists debated where to classify a newly discovered species within its animal order.

  • Many species belong to the animal order Primates.

  • The biologist studied the animal order that contains all primates, including monkeys and apes.

  • In taxonomy, the animal order Carnivora includes dogs, cats, and bears.

  • The specific animal order to which dolphins belong is called Cetacea.

Synonyms

order
vsanimal order
  • Specialized
66 7.5

A group of related animal or plant families in science

applies the same rank only to creatures not to plants or microbes

Surface Forms

animal order singular
animal orders plural

Morphology

animal + order

The phrase is directly compositional: 'order' (a taxonomic grouping) modified by 'animal' yields the rank of animals between class and family. This is a straightforward noun+noun specification found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the meaning.

Etymology

Animal order comes from the simple idea of an order as a neat arrangement or list. Imagine putting similar animal 'families' side by side—an animal order is that kind of group, so it sits above 'family' and below 'class'.