Meanings
adjectiveparaphyletic (not comparable)
- not comparablesystematicsOf a defined group of taxa: not including all descendants of the most recent common ancestor of all members.
Origin
- Ancient Greekφῦλον“tribe, race”
- Englishparaphyletic
From para- (“near”) + Ancient Greek φῦλον (phûlon, “tribe, race”) + -etic.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan parafilètic
- parafilèticExcluding some descendants of the most recent common ancestor
Dutch parafyletisch
- parafyletischExcluding some descendants of the most recent common ancestor
Finnish parafyleettinen
- parafyleettinenExcluding some descendants of the most recent common ancestor
French paraphylétique
- paraphylétiqueExcluding some descendants of the most recent common ancestor
German paraphyletisch
- paraphyletischExcluding some descendants of the most recent common ancestor
Portuguese parafilético
- parafiléticoExcluding some descendants of the most recent common ancestor
Russian парафилетический
- парафилетический (parafiletičeskij)Excluding some descendants of the most recent common ancestor
Spanish parafilético
- parafiléticoExcluding some descendants of the most recent common ancestor
Vietnamese cận ngành
- cận ngànhExcluding some descendants of the most recent common ancestor
Cite this entry
APA
paraphyletic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paraphyletic
MLA
“paraphyletic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paraphyletic. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “paraphyletic,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paraphyletic.
Source: paraphyletic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.