Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
🌳 With many branches 📝 With many choices
polytomous

polytomous

9.9
A branch that splits into more than two new branches in a family tree of species
  • adjective
  • /ˌpɒlɪˈtoʊməs/
  • Specialized
translation icon : politómico
  • In her research, she found a polytomous branching point where three distinct lineages split from a common ancestor.

Examples

  • The diagram showed a polytomous split where several species emerged from a single ancestor.

  • Researchers debated whether the node was truly polytomous or if more data could resolve the relationships.

  • A polytomous tree can indicate uncertainty about the order of evolutionary events.

  • The polytomous nature of species is fascinating.

  • Did you know that a polytomous tree can represent multiple species?

  • The biologist explained how a polytomous tree illustrates the evolutionary relationships among various species.

  • During the presentation, he displayed a polytomous diagram that depicted multiple descendant lineages originating from one node.

Synonyms

polyclad
vspolytomous
  • Specialized
9.7

Having many branches or parts, often in plants and body systems

refers specifically to a branching point with more than two descendant lineages

Surface Forms

polytomous positive

Morphology

polytomous = polytomy (opaque) = poly + tom + ous

The adjective is formed regularly from the technical noun 'polytomy' by adding '-ous'.

Etymology

Polytomous comes from Greek parts poly- meaning 'many' and -tomous meaning 'cut' or 'part', the same root you see in anatomy. So a polytomous branch is one that 'splits into many parts' at a single point, which is why biologists use it for a node with more than two branches.