non-phyletic
|non-phy-let-ic|
🇺🇸
/nɑn.faɪˈlɛtɪk/
🇬🇧
/nɒn.faɪˈlɛtɪk/
not a single evolutionary lineage
Etymology
'non-phyletic' originates from English, formed by the negative prefix 'non-' (ultimately from Latin 'non' meaning 'not') attached to 'phyletic' (from New Latin 'phyleticus', from Greek 'phylē'). In the root 'phylē', the sense was 'tribe' or 'clan'.
'phyletic' derives from Greek 'phylētikos' (relating to a tribe or lineage), passed into New Latin as 'phyleticus' and then into modern English as 'phyletic'; the English prefix 'non-' was later attached to create 'non-phyletic' to indicate the negation of that property.
Originally related to 'tribe' or 'lineage' (i.e., belonging to a particular group or lineage); over time it has been specialized in biology to refer to lineage-based (phyletic) relationships, and 'non-phyletic' evolved to mean 'not representing a single evolutionary lineage'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
not phyletic; not forming or representing a single evolutionary lineage (i.e., not descended from a common ancestor as a single clade). Used in taxonomy to indicate a taxon that does not constitute a single phyletic (monophyletic) group.
The genus was judged non-phyletic because its species did not share a single recent common ancestor.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/21 06:18