"pertaining to the measurements of the human body," 1871, based on French anthropométrique, from anthropometry "measurement of the human body" + -ic.
Entries linking to anthropometric
anthropometry n.
"science of the measurement and dimensions of the parts of the human body," 1839, from anthropo- + -metry "a measuring of." Perhaps modeled on French anthropometrie (by 1806).
-ic
Middle English -ik, -ick, word-forming element making adjectives, "having to do with, having the nature of, being, made of, caused by, similar to," from French -ique and directly from Latin -icus or from cognate Greek -ikos "in the manner of; pertaining to." From PIE adjective suffix *-(i)ko, which also yielded Slavic -isku, adjectival suffix indicating origin, the source of the -sky (Russian -skii) in many surnames. In chemistry, indicating a higher valence than names in -ous (first in benzoic, 1791).
In Middle English and after often spelled -ick, -ike, -ique. Variant forms in -ick (critick, ethick) were common in early Modern English and survived in English dictionaries into early 19c. This spelling was supported by Johnson but opposed by Webster, who prevailed.