cline
/klaɪn/ noun, proper noun
Forms clines
- noun (systematics, evolution, biogeography) A gradation in a character or phenotype within a species, deme, or other systematic group.
- noun Any graduated continuum.
- noun (geometry, inversive geometry) A generalized circle.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Ancient Greek κλῑ́νω (klī́nō, “to lean, incline”). Introduced by English evolutionary biologist and eugenicist Julian Huxley in 1938 after British mycologist John Ramsbottom suggested the term.
From c(ircle) + line; compare circline.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “cline”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details