zooemorphism

Zo`ö*mor"phism, n. 1. The transformation of men into beasts. [R.] Smart. 2. The quality of representing or using animal forms; as, zoömorphism in ornament. 3. The representation of God, or of gods, in the form, or with the attributes, of the lower animals. To avoid the error of anthropomorphism, we fall into the vastly greater, and more absurd, error of zoömorphism. Mivart.

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