A GLOSSARY OF NATURAL-HISTORY TERMINOLOGY

 

 

(Definitions are in language suitable for the age of person most likely to be learning the word. Accordingly, the definitions of simpler words may be oversimplified, with exceptions ignored.)

 

 

The most basic terms of all:

 

Animal – An alive creature that eats other alive things. Most animals move around to find things to eat, but some (especially ones that live in water) stay in one place and wait for food to come to them.

 

Plant – An alive thing that makes its own food from stuff it gets out of the air and ground. Plants are usually green and grow out of the ground. They don't move from place to place on their own, and only a few eat things. Grass and trees are plants. Trees usually grow quite large, with leaves that grow from hard wood branches growing out of a hard wood stem called a trunk.

 

 

For other definitions, click to these pages:

 

How animals are classified

Major kinds of animals

Specific kinds of animals

Animal bodies: design, materials, parts, colors

How animals move

How animals eat

How animal bodies work

Making more animals

Where animals live

Miscellaneous animal words