clade

[ kleyd ]

nounBiology.

a taxonomic group of organisms classified together on the basis of homologous features traced to a common ancestor.

Origin of clade

First recorded in 1957, clade is from the Greek word kládos branch

Words Nearby clade

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use clade in a sentence

She notes that there are two different variants — or clades — of monkeypox.
Explainer: What is monkeypox? | Janet Raloff | September 9, 2022 | Science News For Students
Many specialist corals can’t bring clade D into their tissues.
When Evolution Is Infectious - Issue 90: Something Green | Moises Velasquez-Manoff | September 30, 2020 | Nautilus
One answer, says Tye Pettay, a research scientist at the University of Delaware, is that corals harboring this clade may grow more slowly than those with other clades.
When Evolution Is Infectious - Issue 90: Something Green | Moises Velasquez-Manoff | September 30, 2020 | Nautilus
Haec autem plaga Hiberniam quoque insulam pari clade premebat.
A History of Epidemics in Britain (Volume I of II) | Charles Creighton
In 1825, he formed a partnership with Mr. Edmund clade, from Buffalo, and retired from active participation in business.
Cleveland Past and Present | Maurice Joblin

British Dictionary definitions for clade

clade

/ (kleɪd) /

noun

biology a group of organisms considered as having evolved from a common ancestor

Origin of clade

C20: from Greek klados branch, shoot

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 clade

clade

[ klād ]

A grouping of organisms made on the basis of their presumed evolutionary history, rather than purely on shared features. Clades consist of a common ancestor and all its descendants. The class Aves (birds) is a clade, but the class Reptilia (reptiles) is not, since it does not include birds, which are descended from the dinosaurs, a kind of reptile. Many modern taxonomists prefer to use clades in classification, and not all clades correspond to traditional groups like classes, orders, and phyla. Compare grade.

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