Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

phylum

/ˈfaɪləm/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.36 in modern English

Syllables: phy-lum
IPA: /ˈfaɪləm/

16

Scrabble Score

6

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A rank in the classification of organisms, below kingdom and above class; also called a divisio or a division, especially in describing plants; a taxon at that rank

noun

A large division of possibly related languages, or a major language family which is not subordinate to another.

Example Sentences

"Mammals belong to the phylum Chordata."
"While biologists are perpetually finding new species, they can almost always fit the organism into one of the existing taxonomic pigeonholes by which scientists classify life forms. The discovery of an organism so unusual that it needs its own phylum is an extremely rare event."

Etymology

From Latin phylum, from Ancient Greek φῦλον (phûlon, “tribe, race”).

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: *bʰuH-, phylum, φῦλον

Inflected Forms

phyla (plural) phylums (nonstandard, plural)

Derived Forms

infraphylum interphylum intraphylum macrophylum monophylum paraphylum phylal subphylum superphylum

Phrases

phylo-

Frequently Paired Words

phylo- phylon

Synonyms

superstock

Homonyms

filum

Rhymes With

asylum xylem hilum whilom pilum filum bulbophyllum

Questions

How do you pronounce phylum?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈfaɪləm/.
What does phylum mean?: A rank in the classification of organisms, below kingdom and above class; also called a divisio or a division, especially in describing plants; a taxon at that rank
Where does phylum come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce phylum

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “phylum”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈfaɪləm/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “phylum”.
Repeat and practice — Say “phylum” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.