nonmonophyletic
|non-mon-o-phy-let-ic|
🇺🇸
/ˌnɑnmoʊnəfaɪˈlɛtɪk/
🇬🇧
/ˌnɒnmɒnəfaɪˈlɛtɪk/
not a single-origin clade
Etymology
'nonmonophyletic' is formed in modern English by the negative prefix 'non-' + 'monophyletic'; 'monophyletic' comes from Modern Latin/Neo-Latin and Greek elements 'mono-' meaning 'single' and 'phylon' meaning 'race' or 'tribe'.
'monophyletic' entered scientific usage via Neo-Latin (late 19th century) from Greek 'monos' ('single') + 'phylon' ('race, tribe'); the English negative prefix 'non-' (from Old French/Latin usage) was later attached to form 'nonmonophyletic' in modern biological literature.
Originally, 'monophyletic' meant 'originating from a single common ancestor'; over time 'nonmonophyletic' emerged to label groups that do not meet that criterion (i.e., groups that are paraphyletic or polyphyletic), and it is used specifically in systematics to flag such cases.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
noun form: the condition or state of being nonmonophyletic; (a derived noun from 'nonmonophyletic').
The nonmonophyly of this clade indicates the need for taxonomic revision.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Adjective 1
not monophyletic; describing a taxonomic group that does not form a single clade (i.e., it fails to include all descendants of a common ancestor or includes organisms from multiple separate lineages).
The genus as currently defined was nonmonophyletic in the molecular phylogeny.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/21 06:30