genealogical classification
noun phraseUK /ˌdʒiːniəˈlɒdʒɪkəl ˌklæsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/
US /ˌdʒiːniəˈlɑːdʒɪkəl ˌklæsəfəˈkeɪʃən/
A way of sorting things by who their family members are.
Scientists used genealogical classification to group the birds by their family tree.
RELATED WORDS
OTHER MEANINGS
2. In biology, grouping living things by how closely they are related through evolution.
The genealogical classification of mammals places whales near hippos.
3. In linguistics, sorting languages into families that share a common ancestor.
English and German belong together under a genealogical classification of languages.
4. In library science, arranging records or books by family lines.
The archive's genealogical classification made it easy to trace one family's documents.