# Summary: phylogeny: (noun) 1. the sequence of events involved in the evolutionary development of a species or group of organisms, 2. the history or course of the development of something. # Excerpt: Silence falls, a waiting sort of silence, as if it's still unfinished, more yet to be said. "With these words," Jon says finally, slowly, feeling out the words as he says them, "and with these rings, with the sun and moon and stars as our witness, we commit ourselves to our future together, as a family."