somatotype

From somato- +‎ -type.

somatotype (plural somatotypes)

1. A particular type of physique; originally, one of the types defined by William Herbert Sheldon: ectomorphic, endomorphic, mesomorphic.
   • 2009, Jeremy Mynott, chapter 2, in Birdscapes, Princeton and Oxford: Princeton, page 46:

     The relevant characteristics here are the upright posture, the big round head, the cuddly size and the soft dumpy shape. I suppose the much-loved Bill Oddie is the same somatotype.

   • 2016 March, “Somatotypes”, in Nutrition News‎^[1], volume 1, number 1, National Nutrition Centre, archived from the original on 3 June 2023, page 2:

     The observed occurrence of people changing from one somatotype to another has caused many researchers and health practitioners to regard the practice of categorizing people into different somatotypes as unscientific and erroneous.

   • 2025 February 6, Laura Schober, “Everything To Know About Having an Ectomorph Body Type”, in Health‎^[2]:

     An ectomorph is a human somatotype (body type) that is typically tall and lean with smaller muscles, narrow shoulders, and narrow hips. […] There are two other somatotypes: endomorphs and mesomorphs.

• constitutional type

• cerebrotonia
• somatogram
• somatypology
• physiognomy

somatotype (third-person singular simple present somatotypes, present participle somatotyping, simple past and past participle somatotyped)

1. (transitive) To classify (a person) by physical build.
   • 2016 January 20, “Black and Hispanic Men Perceived to Be Large Are at Increased Risk for Police Frisk, Search, and Force”, in PLOS ONE‎^[3], →DOI:

     Apart from Masicampo et al. and Cullinane et al., no previous research has analyzed suspects’ perceived body size and police practices, though past theories of biology and crime, such as Sheldon's somatotyping of criminal behavior as well as several recent studies assess the relationship between individuals’ body type, height, and weight and likelihood of committing crime and being arrested.