Dictionary

plesiomorphic en · ADJ

Pronunciation

• /ˌplizioʊˈmɔɹfɪk/ (General-American)

Etymology

From plesiomorph + -ic or plesio- + -morphic.

Meanings

1. Sharing a character state with an ancestral clade; primitive.
   • [T]he cockroach Polyphaga may represent a condition more plesiomorphic than in other Dictyoptera, but it could as well be paedomorphic, and therefore more derived than in other Dictyoptera [72]. 2000, Christine A. Nalepa, Claudio Bandi, “Paedomorphosis and Termite Evolution”, in Termites: Evolution, Sociality, Symbioses, Ecology, →ISBN, page 68:
   • "The cranium is clearly plesiomorphic in overall form, presenting primitive traits shared by earlier hominins," the authors wrote. 2025 September 27, Julia Jacobo, “Million-year-old skull could rewrite timeline of human origin, researchers say”, in ABC News, archived from the original on 14 Feb 2026:
2. Plesiomorphous.

Forms

Deriveds

plesiomorphically

Relateds

apomorphic · paedomorphic · plesiomorphy

Synonyms

primitive · basal