form division
- noun
- Archaic
:
división de forma
- The mosses were once grouped in a separate form division before genetic research clarified their classification.
Examples
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By the 1990s, the use of form division had been largely replaced by 'phylum' in plant taxonomy.
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Many traditional botanical textbooks refer to form division in their systems of classification.
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The form division was used in earlier classifications.
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Many botanists no longer use the form division in their research.
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In the past, many botanists relied on the form division to classify plants that were not well understood.
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The form division was once a common term in botany, but it has been replaced by more accurate classifications.
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Science has advanced since the form division was commonly used to categorize plants, leading to a better understanding of their relationships.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound directly combines 'form' (a group distinguished by traits) and 'division' (a taxonomic rank), so a learner who knows both words can infer it refers to a taxonomic grouping based on form. However, the specific technical and historical sense (an obsolete, artificial category replaced by 'phylum') is specialist knowledge not predictable from the parts, making the expression only partially transparent.
Etymology
Form division comes from a simple idea: form meaning 'shape' and division meaning 'group' were used to put plants together by how they looked. So it meant a 'group of plants' based on appearance and was later replaced by 'phylum' when scientists found better ways to sort plants.
