: a gradient of morphological or physiological change in a group of related organisms usually along a line of environmental or geographic transition
: slope
monocline
Examples of cline in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 28 Feb. 2012
Some degree of gene flow from sub-Saharan Africa can be detected in the southern part of North Africa and in Saharawi and Southeastern Moroccans, as a result of a continuous gene flow across the Sahara desert that has created a south-north cline of sub-Saharan Africa influence in North Africa.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 17 Dec. 2011
Recent reports have identified a north–south cline in genetic variation in East and South-East Asia, but these studies have not formally explored the basis of these clinical differences.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 27 July 2011
In short, the Romani exhibit a classic admixture cline pattern.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 9 Dec. 2012
The top-line result is that a substantial minority of European ancestry, with a southwest-northeast cline, may be of East Eurasian provenance.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 17 Sep. 2012
There's a rather clear cline of declining Melanesian admixture as one moves west across the Indonesian archipelago.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 22 Sep. 2011
Noun
The primary cline of genetic variation in Europe is North-South, with a secondary one going from West-East.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 28 Feb. 2012
Some degree of gene flow from sub-Saharan Africa can be detected in the southern part of North Africa and in Saharawi and Southeastern Moroccans, as a result of a continuous gene flow across the Sahara desert that has created a south-north cline of sub-Saharan Africa influence in North Africa.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 17 Dec. 2011
Recent reports have identified a north–south cline in genetic variation in East and South-East Asia, but these studies have not formally explored the basis of these clinical differences.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 27 July 2011
In short, the Romani exhibit a classic admixture cline pattern.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 9 Dec. 2012
The top-line result is that a substantial minority of European ancestry, with a southwest-northeast cline, may be of East Eurasian provenance.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 17 Sep. 2012
There's a rather clear cline of declining Melanesian admixture as one moves west across the Indonesian archipelago.
—Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 22 Sep. 2011
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cline.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun
Greek klinein
Noun combining form
back-formation from -clinal
Dictionary Entries Near cline
Cite this Entry
“Cline.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cline. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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