Webster's English Dictionary

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phylum

phy.lum \'fi--l*m\ \-l*\ n or phy.la [NL, fr. Gk phylon tribe, race - more 
   at PHYL-] pl  1a: a direct line of descent within a group  1b: a group that 
   constitutes or has the unity of such a phylum; esp :: one of the usu. 
   primary divisions of the animal kingdom {the ~ Arthropoda} 2: a group of 
   languages related more remotely than those of a family or sto ck