phylum

[ fahy-luhm ]

noun

, plural phy·la [fahy, -l, uh].

1. Biology. the primary subdivision of a taxonomic kingdom, grouping together all classes of organisms that have the same body plan.
2. Linguistics. a category consisting of language stocks that, because of cognates in vocabulary, are considered likely to be related by common origin. Compare stock ( def 13 ).

phylum

/ ˈfaɪləm /

noun

1. a major taxonomic division of living organisms that contain one or more classes. An example is the phylum Arthropoda (insects, crustaceans, arachnids, etc, and myriapods)
2. any analogous group, such as a group of related language families or linguistic stocks

phylum

/ fī′ləm /

, Plural phyla

1. A group of organisms ranking above a class and below a kingdom.
2. See Table at taxonomy

phylum

1. plur. phyla One of the major divisions of the kingdoms of living things; the second-largest standard unit of biological classification. The arthropods , chordates , and mollusks are phyla. Phyla in the plant kingdom are frequently called divisions. ( See Linnean classification .)

Other Words From

• phylar adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of phylum¹

1875–80; < New Latin < Greek phŷlon tribe, stock; phylon

Word History and Origins

Origin of phylum¹

C19: New Latin, from Greek phulon race

Example Sentences

Discovered in China, a roughly 520-million-year-old fossil of the newly identified worm, dubbed Wufengella, might be the missing link between three of the phyla that constitute a cadre of sea creatures called lophophorates.

From Science News

The cicada attackers are in a whole different phylum, “way lower” on the fungal tree of life.

From Science News

As a result, he and his colleagues believe that the phylum containing the new species actually makes up a supergroup — a category bigger than a kingdom.

From Science News For Students

“It’s twofold interesting — it’s a new phylum and a new metabolism,” says Luke McKay, a microbial ecologist of extreme environments at Montana State University in Bozeman.

From Science News

The entire phylum of what they do is called “hedging risk,” not diving into it.

From The Daily Beast

Differentiation within the vertebrate phylum is therefore not uniserial, but takes place in several directions.

From Project Gutenberg

The higher animals begin with the twelfth phylum, namely, the Chordata, or vertebrates.

From Project Gutenberg

The leech is a fresh-water parasitic invertebrate belonging to the Phylum Annelida.

From Project Gutenberg

What applies to the vertebrate phylum applies also to the invertebrate groups.

From Project Gutenberg

What evidence is there as to the origin of the bony skeleton in the vertebrate phylum itself?

From Project Gutenberg