phyle

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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.

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

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.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.phyle - a tribe of ancient Athenians
tribe, folk - a social division of (usually preliterate) people
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
References in periodicals archive ?
The other day I was watching a programme about the ruins of Phylae in the Lower Nile, the last bastion of the Egyptian gods in the 4th Century AD.
2:14), is no parallel to Acts 17:5, as is shown by a lengthy analysis of the four local phylae to which Paul's converts had belonged (153-65).