cladistics

1 of 2

noun (1)

cla·​dis·​tics klə-ˈdi-stiks 

kla-

plural in form but singular in construction

: a system of biological taxonomy that defines taxa uniquely by shared characteristics not found in ancestral groups and uses inferred evolutionary relationships to arrange taxa in a branching hierarchy such that all members of a given taxon have the same ancestors

cladist

ˈkla-dist  ˈklā- 

noun

cladistic

klə-ˈdi-stik 

kla-

adjective

cladistically

klə-ˈdi-sti-k(ə-)lē 

kla-

adverb

cladist

2 of 2

noun (2)

cla·​dist ˈkla-dist 

ˈklā-

plural -s

: a taxonomist who adheres to the cladistic system of classification

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

clade + -ist(ic) + -ics

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1965, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for cladistics

• ballistics
• heuristics
• linguistics
• logistics
• statistics
• stylistics
• biostatistics
• characteristics
• psycholinguistics
• mystics
• sociolinguistics