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phenetics

American  
[fi-net-iks] / fɪˈnɛt ɪks /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

  1. classification of organisms based on measurable similarities and differences rather than genetic makeup and evolutionary descent.

phenetics British  
/ fɪˈnɛtɪks /

noun

  1. (functioning as singular) biology a system of classification based on similarities between organisms without regard to their evolutionary relationships

"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

Grammar

See -ics.

Other Word Forms

  • phenetic adjective
  • pheneticist noun

Etymology

Origin of phenetics

phenetic, -ics

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.