clade
/kleɪd/
noun
Origin
Ancient Greek
klados — branch, sprout, shoot
Overview
Meaning Now
- A group of organisms believed to have evolved from a common ancestor, according to the principles of cladistics.
Literal older meaning
branch
Language path
Ancient Greek → English
Earliest form
clade
Earliest period
1958
Journey
The term was introduced during the rise of cladistics, a school of biological classification that emphasizes the evolutionary relationships among organisms represented by branching diagrams called cladograms.
Evolution
- Ancient Greek
klados
“a branch or slip of a plant”
- Scientific English (20th Century)
clade
“monophyletic group of organisms”
Coined to describe phylogenetic branching patterns.
Connections
Word parts
clade
root
branch
Related across languages
Ancient Greek
klādon
branch
Explore next
Related to clade
External references use DefinedTerm semantics.