phylogeny
noun
phy·log·e·ny fī-ˈlä-jə-nē 
plural phylogenies
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 (such as a word or custom)
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web One crucial problem in phylogeny was convergent evolution. 
Ben Crair, The New Yorker, 15 July 2022 In the history of the bicycle, ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. The New Yorker, 23 May 2022 To do this work, Professor Székely and his collaborators conducted a variety of statistical analyses on weaverbird diet, habitat type, distribution, and social behavior and compared these results to the weaverbird phylogeny (family tree). Grrlscientist, Forbes, 26 Apr. 2022 Their scripts compared data from the animal experiments to the species’ phylogeny, a web describing their evolutionary relatedness. Max G. Levy, Wired, 25 Jan. 2022 The researchers resolved to reconstruct the phylogeny—or family tree of evolutionary relationships—of these groups from 56 million to 15 million years ago. Max G. Levy, Wired, 2 Nov. 2021 To determine how these viral samples are related to each other, researchers use computer tools to construct the virus’s family tree, or phylogeny. Marilyn J. Roossinck, The Conversation, 7 June 2021 Tracking down and sequencing the DNA of all the samples at the heart of this phylogeny took the project’s 21 collaborators six years. Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Dec. 2020 The researchers’ main goal was to create an accurate, detailed evolutionary tree, or phylogeny, for this large group of birds by sequencing the DNA of every single species in the group. Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Dec. 2020 See More
Ben Crair, The New Yorker, 15 July 2022 In the history of the bicycle, ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. The New Yorker, 23 May 2022 To do this work, Professor Székely and his collaborators conducted a variety of statistical analyses on weaverbird diet, habitat type, distribution, and social behavior and compared these results to the weaverbird phylogeny (family tree). Grrlscientist, Forbes, 26 Apr. 2022 Their scripts compared data from the animal experiments to the species’ phylogeny, a web describing their evolutionary relatedness. Max G. Levy, Wired, 25 Jan. 2022 The researchers resolved to reconstruct the phylogeny—or family tree of evolutionary relationships—of these groups from 56 million to 15 million years ago. Max G. Levy, Wired, 2 Nov. 2021 To determine how these viral samples are related to each other, researchers use computer tools to construct the virus’s family tree, or phylogeny. Marilyn J. Roossinck, The Conversation, 7 June 2021 Tracking down and sequencing the DNA of all the samples at the heart of this phylogeny took the project’s 21 collaborators six years. Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Dec. 2020 The researchers’ main goal was to create an accurate, detailed evolutionary tree, or phylogeny, for this large group of birds by sequencing the DNA of every single species in the group. Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 Dec. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
International Scientific Vocabulary
First Known Use
1869, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Medical Definition
phylogeny
noun
phy·log·e·ny fi-ˈläj-ə-nē
plural phylogenies
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
called also phylogenesis
compare ontogeny