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Darwinism

dar·wi·nism

UK/ˈdɑːwɪnɪz(ə)m/ US/ˈdɑɹwənˌɪzəm/ rare

noun

1.

a theory of organic evolution claiming that new species arise and are perpetuated by natural selection

Origin

From Darwin + -ism (suffix forming names of schools of thought, systems, or theories), from the surname of the English natural philosopher, physician, and poet Erasmus Darwin (1731-1802), and his grandson the biologist, geologist, and naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882). The word was apparently first applied in noun sense 1 (“Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection”) by the English anthropologist and biologist Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895) in 1860: see the quotation.

Phrases

  • natural selection
  • social Darwinism
  • survival of the fittest

Related words

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.