PhyloCode

P3H4Y4L1O1C3O1D2E1

proper noun

A draft code of formal nomenclature intended to allow naming phylogenetic groups, of all living things, rather than taxonomic groups (taxa). Officially, such names are intended to supplement scientific names rather than replace them.

OriginEnglish code ← Middle English code ← Old French code →
Scrabble 20
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. A draft code of formal nomenclature intended to allow naming phylogenetic groups, of all living things, rather than taxonomic groups (taxa). Officially, such names are intended to supplement scientific names rather than replace them.

    They want to replace it with a more rational scheme they call the PhyloCode […] Given the hostile reception PhyloCode has received so far, they have a lot of convincing to do […]

    2004 September 11, New Scientist, pages 12–13

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰuH-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰuHyéti
  3. Ancient Greekφύω (phúō)
  4. Ancient Greekφῦλον (phûlon)
  5. Englishphylo-
  6. Latincaudex
  7. Latincōdex
  8. Old Frenchcode
  9. Middle Englishcode
  10. Englishcode
  11. EnglishPhyloCode

From phylo- + code.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

PhyloCode. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/PhyloCode

MLA

“PhyloCode.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/PhyloCode. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “PhyloCode,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/PhyloCode.

Source: PhyloCode on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.