cladistics

[ kluh-dis-tiks ]

nounBiology.(used with a plural verb)
  1. classification of organisms based on the branchings of descendant lineages from a common ancestor.

Origin of cladistics

1
1965–70; cladist(ic) (see clad-, -istic) + -ics

Other words from cladistics

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

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British Dictionary definitions for cladistics

cladistics

/ (kləˈdɪstɪks) /


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

Origin of cladistics

1
C20: New Latin, from Greek klādos branch, shoot

Derived forms of cladistics

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for cladistics

cladistics

[ klə-dĭstĭks ]


  1. 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.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.