Main Entry: phy·log·e·ny

Pronunciation: \fī-ˈlä-jə-nē\

Function: noun

Inflected Form(s): plural phy·log·e·nies

Etymology: International Scientific Vocabulary

Date: circa 1872

1 : the evolutionary history of a kind of organism
2 : the evolution of a genetically related group of organisms as distinguished from the development of the individual organism
3 : the history or course of the development of something (as a word or custom)