Meanings
nounphylogenetic tree (plural phylogenetic trees)
plural phylogenetic trees
- biologyA branching diagram illustrating the potential evolutionary relationships among biological organisms or other entities in which the tree-maker hypothesizes share a common ancestor.
However, phylogenetic trees describe the relatedness between living organisms (and their classification) rather than ancestry. They measure the genetic distance between organisms, and identify the nearest relatives.
2011, Jacques Pepin, “The Source”, in The Origins of AIDS, 1st edition, →ISBN, page 22
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 系統發生樹 /系统发生树, 演化樹 /演化树
- 系統發生樹 /系统发生树 (xìtǒngfāshēngshù)tree diagram
- 演化樹 /演化树 (yǎnhuàshù)tree diagram
Finnish evoluutiopuu, fylogeneettinen puu
- evoluutiopuutree diagram
- fylogeneettinen puutree diagram
French arbre phylogénétique
- arbre phylogénétiquetree diagram
Polish drzewo filogenetyczne
- drzewo filogenetycznetree diagram
Portuguese árvore filogenética
- árvore filogenéticatree diagram
Romanian arbore filogenetic
- arbore filogenetictree diagram
Russian филогенети́ческое де́рево, эволюцио́нное де́рево
- филогенети́ческое де́рево (filogenetíčeskoje dérevo)tree diagram
- эволюцио́нное де́рево (evoljuciónnoje dérevo)tree diagram
Spanish árbol filogenético
- árbol filogenéticotree diagram
Tagalog lipmulaing punungkahoy
- lipmulaing punungkahoytree diagram
Cite this entry
APA
phylogenetic tree. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phylogenetic%20tree
MLA
“phylogenetic tree.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phylogenetic%20tree. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “phylogenetic tree,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phylogenetic%20tree.
Source: phylogenetic tree on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.