Linnean
Britishadjective
-
of or relating to Linnaeus
-
relating to the system of classification of plants and animals using binomial nomenclature
-
Relating to the system of taxonomic classification and binomial nomenclature originated by Carolus Linnaeus. In the Linnean system, organisms are grouped according to shared characteristics into a hierarchical series of fixed categories ranging from subspecies at the bottom to kingdom at the top.
-
Compare cladistics
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He presented his “Flora of North America,” including Lewis’s specimens, to the Linnean Society of London in 1813.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
The findings come from a study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, which reconstructs the ancient marine ecosystem preserved in Colombia’s Paja Formation.
From Science Daily • Dec. 19, 2025
So, the lead author of a paper describing the new species, which was published on Thursday in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
From New York Times • Mar. 21, 2024
The discovery is published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
From BBC • Dec. 21, 2023
Cannily, Lyell advised Darwin to have both papers presented simultaneously at the meeting of the Linnean Society that summer so that both Darwin and Wallace could simultaneously be credited for their discoveries.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
![]()
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.