phylum

Where does the word "phylum" come from? It comes from Greek phylon, and was adopted directly into English (1870).

Phylum’s story begins in Greek: phylon meant “a tribe, a race.” A tribe, a race, a class of things sharing common descent. It reached English by 1870 as phylum. Ernst Haeckel coined 'phylum' in 1866. Today, phylum means a major taxonomic rank of biological classification, below kingdom.

1. Stage 1 · Greek · ancient phylon "a tribe, a race", a tribe, a race, a class of things sharing common descent.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1870 phylum "a major taxonomic classification of organisms", Ernst Haeckel coined 'phylum' in 1866.