Etymology

synapomorphy

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Today it means: A derived trait that is shared by two or more taxa of shared ancestry. Full definition →

English apomorphy ← Ancient Greek μορφή (morphḗ) ← Proto-Hellenic *apó
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱómder.?
  3. Proto-Indo-European*sem-der.?
  4. Proto-Hellenic*ksún
  5. Ancient Greekσύν (sún)
  6. Ancient Greekσῠν- (sŭn-)
  7. Englishsyn-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ep
  9. Proto-Indo-European*h₂epó
  10. Proto-Hellenic*apó
  11. Ancient Greekᾰ̓πό (ăpó)
  12. Ancient Greekᾰ̓πο- (ăpo-)
  13. Englishapo-
  14. Ancient Greekμορφή (morphḗ)
  15. Englishapomorphy
  16. English todaysynapomorphy

From syn- + apomorphy.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.