phylogeny
Americannoun
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the development or evolution of a particular group of organisms.
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the evolutionary history of a group of organisms, especially as depicted in a family tree.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of phylogeny
Explanation
Use the noun phylogeny to describe the branch of biology that focuses on evolution and the differences between species. You're most likely to come across the word phylogeny in a biology class. It's another term for "phylogenetics," the study of evolution, diversity, and the way different organisms and species are related to each other. The German biologist Ernst Heinrich Haeckel was the first to use the word phylogeny, in 1866, and Darwin used it soon after. It combines the Greek phylos, "race," with geneia, "origin."
Vocabulary lists containing phylogeny
Evolutionary Biology - High School
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Evolutionary Biology - Middle School
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Evolutionary BIology - Evidence of Common Ancestry and Diversity - High School
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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.
The team then combined these observations with data from a previously published crab phylogeny that mapped the evolutionary relationships of Brachyura using 10 genes from 344 species across most major lineages.
From Science Daily ● May 2, 2026
"It describes a new genus and species, but places them in the phylogeny of tardigrades," Nelson told Salon.
From Salon ● Sep. 1, 2024
Quattrini and her collaborators created this map of evolutionary relationships, or phylogeny, using genetic data from 185 species of octocorals.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 23, 2024
Evolutionary biologists could list many reasons why understanding phylogeny is important to everyday life in human society.
From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015
Some properties of North American pit viper venoms and their correlation with phylogeny.
From Natural History of Cottonmouth Moccasin, Agkistrodon piscovorus (Reptilia) by Ray D. Burkett
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