phylum
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English
Etymology
From Latin phylum, from Ancient Greek φῦλον (phûlon, “tribe, race”).
Pronunciation
Noun
phylum (plural phyla or phylums)
- (taxonomy) A rank in the classification of organisms, below kingdom and above class; also called a divisio or a division, especially in describing plants; a taxon at that rank
- Mammals belong to the phylum Chordata.
- 1995 December 14, Natalie Angier, “Flyspeck on a Lobster Lip Turns Biology on Its Ear”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
- While biologists are perpetually finding new species, they can almost always fit the organism into one of the existing taxonomic pigeonholes by which scientists classify life forms. The discovery of an organism so unusual that it needs its own phylum is an extremely rare event.
- (linguistics) A large division of possibly related languages, or a major language family which is not subordinate to another.
- Synonym: superstock
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
(biology, taxonomy) A rank in the classification of organisms, below kingdom and above class
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French
Pronunciation
Noun
phylum m (plural phylums)
- (taxonomy) phylum
- Synonym: embranchement
Further reading
- “phylum”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.
Latin
Etymology
From Ancient Greek φῦλον (phûlon).
Pronunciation
Noun
phylum n (genitive phylī); second declension
Declension
Second-declension noun (neuter).
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | phylum | phyla |
| Genitive | phylī | phylōrum |
| Dative | phylō | phylīs |
| Accusative | phylum | phyla |
| Ablative | phylō | phylīs |
| Vocative | phylum | phyla |