ˈbərd. ə lˌän-, bertēyōⁿ- noun
Usage: usually capitalized B
Etymology: after Alphonse Bertillon 1914 French criminologist
: a system for the identification of persons by a physical description based on anthropometric measurements, standardized photographs, notation and classification of markings, color, bodily anomalies, thumb line impressions, and other data that has been largely superseded by fingerprinting