stemma

noun

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stem·ma | \ ˈste-mə

plural stemmata\ ˈste-mə-tə

Definition of stemma

1 : a simple eye present in some insects

2 : a scroll (as among the ancient Romans) containing a genealogical list

3 : a tree showing the relationships of the manuscripts of a literary work

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Examples of stemma in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Her discipline of philology, the study of the development of texts over time, requires comparing manuscripts to each other, building a stemma, or genealogy of texts, from a parent or original manuscript. — David M. Perry, Smithsonian Magazine, "Did the Black Death Rampage Across the World a Century Earlier Than Previously Thought?," 25 Mar. 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'stemma.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.