Etymology

plesiomorphy

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Today it means: A character state that is present in both outgroups and in the ancestors Full definition →

Ancient Greek μορφή (morphḗ) ← English plesio- ← Proto-Indo-European *pelh₂-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pel-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*pelh₂-
  3. Ancient Greekπλησίος (plēsíos)
  4. Ancient Greekπλησίον (plēsíon)
  5. Englishplesio-
  6. Ancient Greekμορφή (morphḗ)
  7. English todayplesiomorphy

From plesio- + -morphy.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.