taxon

[tak-son]

noun

plural

taxa 

1. a taxonomic category, as a species or genus.

taxon

/ ˈtæksɒn /

noun

1. biology any taxonomic group or rank

taxon

plural

taxa 

1. A taxonomic category or group, such as a phylum, order, family, genus, or species.

Word History and Origins

Origin of taxon¹

First recorded in 1945–50; from Greek táx(is) “arranged, put in order” + -on neuter noun ending; taxis ¹, -on ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of taxon¹

C20: back formation from _taxonomy

Example Sentences

"I think our work highlights why and how biologists can bring their human biases to all aspects of biology, which should be of concern for biologists, regardless of their study taxa, moving forward."

From Salon

They add that knowledge of horizontal transfer mechanisms and putative donor taxa might help to design future intercropping strategies that minimize the risk of transfer of effector genes between closely related Fusarium taxa.

From Science Daily

Next, they attributed these to ancient taxa based on their size, shape, and contents.

From Science Magazine

"Our study shows that even for a highly adaptable taxon like octopuses, they may not be able to survive future ocean changes."

From Science Daily

When examining changes by taxon, over 95% of bird and insect species were predicted to experience a change in the number of cities they occupy.

From Science Daily