Nota: La traducción de esta entrada está actualmente en revisión de calidad, por lo que parte del contenido se muestra temporalmente solo en inglés.
Esta entrada aún no se ha traducido a tu idioma, así que se muestra el original a continuación.
cline
This term is primarily used in technical, scientific, and academic registers, specifically within biology, ecology, and linguistics. It describes a gradient of change rather than a sharp boundary, emphasizing the fluid transition of traits across space or populations.
In a biological context, it refers to the gradual shift in a physical trait, such as size or color, often as an adaptation to environmental changes. In linguistics, it describes the subtle, incremental shift in dialect features between two geographic points, where neighboring communities share more similarities than distant ones.
Meanings
A gradual change in a specific characteristic or feature across a geographic area or a biological population.
Examples
The researchers observed a clear cline in body size as the population moved north.
Is this a distinct species or just a geographic cline?
The variation in leaf shape across the mountain range forms a perfect cline.
I wonder if the change in skin pigmentation follows a latitudinal cline.
The professor explained how a linguistic cline connects the two regional dialects.
There is a subtle cline of vowel shifts between the coastal and inland villages.
Look at how the accent shifts gradually; it is a classic example of a dialect cline.
The data suggests a genetic cline rather than a sharp boundary between the groups.