family-tree theory

[ fam-uh-lee tree, fam-lee- ]
/ ˈfæm ə li ˈtri, ˈfæm li- /

noun Historical Linguistics.

a theory that describes language change in terms of genetically related languages developing in successive splits from a common parent language, such as Indo-European, as depicted by a family tree diagram.
Compare wave theory.

Origin of family-tree theory

First recorded in 1930–35

Words nearby family-tree theory