tree diagram
- noun
- /triː ˈdaɪəɡræm/
:
diagrama de árbol
- They then move backwards up the branches of the tree diagram to more distantly related languages at the top.
Examples
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First, because of the closeness of the cognate percentages, the tree diagram depicts Nalu, Mbulungish, and Mboteni diverging from proto-Coastal.
Academic text (2004) -
OK, so now how do how do we actually use this tree diagram to get the answer?
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The tree diagram format is as for figure 5.
Academic text (2010) -
In applying the principle, historical linguists begin with a map of present-day speech communities and a tree diagram.
Academic text (2004) -
At each node on the tree diagram, the descendant languages both inherit words and sounds from their linguistic ancestors and share unique innovations with other languages in their subgroup.
Academic text (2004) -
The maps were presented as circular tree diagrams in which the arrangement of the nodes representing regions was either fairly closely related to their real geographical location (ordered) or unrelated to geographical location (random).
Academic text (1990) -
The teacher drew a tree diagram on the board to explain the family relationships in her lesson.
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We used a tree diagram to illustrate the decision-making process for our group project.
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In biology class, the students created a tree diagram to show the evolutionary relationships between species.
Synonyms
244
6.0
A branching drawing that shows how things are connected, like a family tree
How Complex
244
6.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a diagram with branching lines showing relationships' is directly and compositionally derived from 'tree' (a branching structure) + 'diagram' (a drawing or schematic). The metaphoric use of 'tree' for hierarchical branching is cross-linguistically common and follows normal compound-noun patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words will readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
The phrase tree diagram comes from the picture of a tree: a diagram that starts at one point and has lines that branch out like a tree. So the image of branches helps you remember it means 'a chart that shows relationships or possible outcomes'.