cladistics

[ kluh-dis-tiks ]
/ kləˈdɪs tɪks /

noun Biology. (used with a plural verb)

classification of organisms based on the branchings of descendant lineages from a common ancestor.

Origin of cladistics

1965–70; cladist(ic) (see clad-, -istic) + -ics

OTHER WORDS FROM cladistics

cla·dis·tic, adjective cla·dis·ti·cal·ly, adverb

Words nearby cladistics

claddagh ring, claddie, cladding, clade, cladism, cladistics, clado-, cladocarpous, cladoceran, cladode, cladogenesis

British Dictionary definitions for cladistics

cladistics
/ (kləˈdɪstɪks) /

noun

(functioning as singular) biology a method of grouping animals that makes use of lines of descent rather than structural similarities

Derived forms of cladistics

cladism (ˈklædɪzəm), noun cladist (ˈklædɪst), noun

Word Origin for cladistics

C20: New Latin, from Greek klādos branch, shoot

Scientific definitions for cladistics

cladistics
[ klə-dĭs′tĭks ]

A system of classification based on the presumed phylogenetic relationships and evolutionary history of groups of organisms, rather than purely on shared features. Many taxonomists prefer cladistics to the traditional hierarchies of Linnean classification systems. Compare Linnean.

Cultural definitions for cladistics

cladistics
[ (kluh-dis-tiks) ]

A method of taxonomic classification that groups organisms according to their lines of evolutionary descent. All descendants of a given organism are called a clade.