plesiomorphic

English

Etymology

plesiomorph +‎ -ic

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌplizioʊˈmɔɹfɪk/
• Hyphenation: ple‧sio‧mor‧phic

Adjective

plesiomorphic (comparative more plesiomorphic, superlative most plesiomorphic)

1. (cladistics) Sharing a character state with an ancestral clade; primitive.
   • 2000, Christine A. Nalepa and Claudio Bandi,"Paedomorphosis and Termite Evolution," in Termites: Evolution, Sociality, Symbioses, Ecology [1], →ISBN, page 68:

     [T]he cockroach Polyphaga may represent a condition more plesiomorphic than in other Dictyoptera, but it could as well be paedomorphic, and therefore more derived than in other Dictyoptera [72].

2. plesiomorphous

Synonyms

• primitive, basal

Derived terms

• plesiomorphically

Related terms

• plesiomorphy
• apomorphic
• paedomorphic