Dictionary

Darwinism en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈdɑɹwənˌɪzəm/ (General-American)
• /ˈdɑːwɪnɪz(ə)m/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

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.

Meanings

1. (qualifier:evolutionary theory, uncountable) Charles Darwin's theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection (set out chiefly in his works On the Origin of Species, 1859; and The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, 1871); also, belief in this theory.
   • [W]e do not hesitate to assert that it [Darwin's theory] is as superior to any preceding or contemporary hypothesis, in the extent of observational and experimental basis on which it rests, in its rigorously scientific method, and in its power of explaining biological phenomena, as was the hypothesis of [Nicolaus] Copernicus to the speculations of Ptolemy. But the planetary orbits turned out to be not quite circular after all, and grand as was the service Copernicus rendered to science, [Johannes] Kepler and [Isaac] Newton had to come after him. What if the orbit of Darwinism should be a little to circular? 1860 April 1, [Thomas Henry Huxley], “Art. VIII.—Darwin on the Origin of Species. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection; or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. By Charles Darwin, M.A. London. 1860 [book review].”, in The Westminster and Foreign Quarterly Review, volume XVII, number II (volume LXXIII, number CXLIV, overall), London: Savill and Edwards, […], →OCLC, page 569:
2. (abbreviation, alt-of, qualifier:evolutionary theory, uncountable) Charles Darwin's theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection (set out chiefly in his works On the Origin of Species, 1859; and The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, 1871); also, belief in this theory. ▸ Short for neo-Darwinism (“the synthesis of Charles Darwin's theory of evolution through natural selection with the modern genetic understanding of heredity”).
   alt of neo-Darwinism
3. (broadly, qualifier:evolutionary theory, uncountable) Charles Darwin's theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection (set out chiefly in his works On the Origin of Species, 1859; and The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, 1871); also, belief in this theory. ▸ Chiefly preceded by a descriptive word. ▸ Any of various theories in biology which apply aspects of Darwin's theory (noun sense 1) such as adaptation, competition, or gradual evolution; also, belief in such a theory.
4. (broadly, qualifier:evolutionary theory, uncountable) Charles Darwin's theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection (set out chiefly in his works On the Origin of Species, 1859; and The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, 1871); also, belief in this theory. ▸ Chiefly preceded by a descriptive word. ▸ Any of various theories, now generally discredited, which apply aspects of Darwin's theory (noun sense 1) to other situations such as the development of ideas, organizations, or social groups.
   • social Darwinism
5. (broadly, countable, qualifier:evolutionary theory; generally; generally, uncountable) Charles Darwin's theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection (set out chiefly in his works On the Origin of Species, 1859; and The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, 1871); also, belief in this theory. ▸ Chiefly preceded by a descriptive word. ▸ A process of gradual evolution; also, ruthless competition for achievement or survival.
6. (countable, historical, poetic, uncountable) Erasmus Darwin's poetic style, or theory of natural philosophy suggesting that living organisms developed from simpler lifeforms (set out in his work Zoonomia, 1794–1796).
   • The blank verse of Queen Mab differs little from that measure as it appears in the poems of Akenside, who exercised considerable influence over such poets as escaped from the popular vortex of Darwinism. 1840 January–April, “Article IV. The Poetical Works of P[ercy] B[ysshe] Shelley. London: Moxon. 1839 [book review].”, in The British and Foreign Review; or, European Quarterly Journal, volume X, number XIX, London: Richard and John Edward Taylor, […], →OCLC, page 105:

Forms

Deriveds

social Darwinism · ultra-Darwinism · neo-Darwinism

Relateds

Darwin · Darwinistic · Darwinianism · Darwinian · survival of the fittest · Darwinist · natural selection · Darwinistically

Synonyms

Darwinianism · Darwinianism · Darwinianism · Darwinianism · Darwinianism · Darwinianism

Translations (49)

hu darwinizmus (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · vi học thuyết Đác-uyn (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · pt darwinismo (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · sv darwinism (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · nn darwinisme (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · ar داروينية (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · fr darwinisme (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · cs darwinismus (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · el δαρβινισμός (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · vi học thuyết Đacuyn (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · es darvinismo (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · gl darwinismo (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · da darwinisme (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · sk darvinizmus (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · tr Darvincilik (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · fi darwinismi (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · hy դարվինիզմ (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · sh darvinìzam (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · nb darwinisme (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · uk дарвіні́зм (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · de Darwinismus (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · eo darvinismo (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · cmn 達爾文主義 /达尔文主义 (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · kk дарвинизм (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · io Darwinismo (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · sh дарвинѝзам (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · vi học thuyết Darwin (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · ko 다위니즘 (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · yue 達爾文主義 /达尔文主义 (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · fi darwinismi (Erasmus Darwin’s poetic style, or theory of natural philosophy) · fi darwinismi (ruthless competition for achievement or survival) · ja ダーウィニズム (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · pl darwinizm (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · fi darwinismi (any of various theories in biology which apply aspects of Darwin’s theory; belief in such a theory; any of various discredited theories which apply aspects of Darwin’s theory to other situations) · ru дарвини́зм (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · ca darwinisme (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · nl darwinisme (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · it darvinismo (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · mk дарвини́зам (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · bg дарвинизъм (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · tr Darvinizm (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · es darwinismo (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · it darwinismo (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · ro darvinism (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · fa داروینیسم (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · pt darvinismo (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · ia darwinismo (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · ko 다윈주의 (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory) · ka დარვინიზმი (Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection; belief in this theory)

wikipedia: Wolverhampton Art Gallery · wikipedia: Joseph Wright of Derby · wikipedia: Thomas Henry Huxley · wikipedia: Charles Darwin · wikipedia: Erasmus Darwin · wikipedia: Julia Margaret Cameron