1. a family tree or genealogical chart showing relationships and descent
Usage: formal
2. a diagram showing the relationships between different versions or manuscripts of a text
Usage: academic; textual criticism

Examples

• The historian created a detailed stemma tracing the royal family back five centuries.
• Scholars use a stemma to understand how ancient texts were copied and transmitted.
• The stemma revealed that several manuscripts shared a common ancestor.
• Her research included constructing a stemma of all known versions of the medieval poem.
• The genealogist presented the family’s stemma at the reunion.
• By analyzing the stemma, researchers identified which manuscript was most reliable.