Noun: phylum (phyla) fI-lum
- (linguistics) a large group of languages that are historically related
"The Indo-European phylum includes most European languages"
- (biology) the major taxonomic group of animals and plants; contains classes
"Arthropoda is the phylum that includes insects, spiders, and crustaceans"
Sounds like: phrase, fraise, phylum
Derived forms: phyla
Type of: social group, taxon, taxonomic category, taxonomic group
Part of: kingdom
Encyclopedia: Phylum