Cline Meaning
/klaɪn/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA gradation in a character or phenotype within a species, deme, or other systematic group.
nounAny graduated continuum.
Sentence Examples
There is a gradual cline of decreasing size to the northward.
As one moves further south they enter a different cline.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The temperature ____ shows a gradual increase from north to south.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ is a gradual change in a character or feature of species.
Word Origin & History
From Ancient Greek κλῑ́νω (klī́nō, “to lean, incline”). Introduced by English evolutionary biologist and eugenicist Julian Huxley in 1938 after British mycologist John Ramsbottom suggested the term.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"This account effectively reconstructs the well-known grammaticalisation cline from anaphora to agreement, …"
— 2005, Ronnie Cann, Ruth Kempson, Lutz Marten, The Dynamics of Language, an Introduction, page 412:
"Let C₁ and C₂ be two nonintersecting clines. Prove that there is a unique pair of points that are simultaneously symmetric to both C₁ and C₂."
— 2001, Michael Henle, Modern Geometries: Non-Euclidean, Projective, and Discrete, page 77:
"To visualize Möbius transformations, it is helpful to focus on fixed points and, in the case of two fixed points, on two families of clines with respect to these points."
— 2009, Michael P. Hitchman, Geometry with an Introduction to Cosmic Topology, page 64:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The temperature ____ shows a gradual increase from north to south.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ is a gradual change in a character or feature of species.