phyle

phy·le

 (fī′lē)

n. pl. phy·lae (-lē)

A large citizens' organization based on kinship, constituting the largest political subdivision of an ancient Greek city-state.

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[Greek phūlē, tribe, phyle; see bheuə- in Indo-European roots.]

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phy′lic adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

phyle

(ˈfaɪlɪ)

n, pl -lae (-liː)

(Anthropology & Ethnology) a tribe or clan of an ancient Greek people such as the Ionians

[C19: from Greek phulē tribe, clan]

ˈphylic adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

phy•le

(ˈfaɪ li)

n., pl. -lae (-lē).

(in ancient Greece) any of various hereditary corporate subdivisions of a population, as the traditional tribal subdivisions of the Dorians and Ionians.

[1860–65; < Greek phȳlḗ]

phy′lic, adj.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

phyle - a tribe of ancient Athenians tribe, folk - a social division of (usually preliterate) people

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