Zoomorphic

From WikiFur, the furry encyclopedia.

Zoomorphic means having animal characteristics, physical and otherwise. In the fandom, where the exact degree to which a being is human-like and animal-like is important, the term has developed two incompatible connotations.

Zoomorphic is sometimes used to describe beings with primarily or even exclusively animal characteristics, contrastive with typical furry depictions which combine human and animal traits in more nearly equal measure.

Zoomorphic is also sometimes used to describe humans to which animal characteristics have been added, the idea being that the result is still predominantly human, for example, a human with cat ears (see kemonomimi). This sense derives from the use of two equally valid terms, 'anthropomorphic animal' and 'zoomorphic human,' contrastively.