n.a statistical technique used in glottochronology; used to estimate how long ago different languages evolved from a common source language
英汉双解大词典
lexicostatistics/ˌlɛksɪkəʊstəˈtɪstɪks/
1.
N（名词）
the statistical study of the vocabulary of a language, with special attention to the historical links with other languages 词汇统计学; 语言年代学 → see also glottochronology