evolution
UK /ˌiːvəˈluːʃ(ə)n/ · US /ˌɛvəˈluʃ(ə)n/ noun
Forms evolutions
- noun (military) A manoeuvre of troops or ships.
- noun (chiefly dance, sports) A turning movement, especially of the body.
- noun (obsolete) A turned or twisted shape; an involution, a complex or intricate shape.
- noun (now rare) The act or process of unfolding or opening out; the progression of events in regular succession.
- noun (geometry) The opening out of a curve; now more generally, the gradual transformation of a curve by a change of the conditions generating it.
- noun (mathematics, now chiefly historical) The extraction of a root from a given power.
- noun (chemistry) The act or an instance of giving off gas; emission.
- noun Development; the act or result of developing what was implicit in an idea, argument etc. “The ongoing evolution of Lolita subculture fashion includes, among other things, the ballet style.”
Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology
Borrowed from Latin ēvolūtiō, ēvolūtiōnis (“the act of unrolling, unfolding or opening (of a book)”), from ēvolūtus, perfect passive participle of ēvolvō (“unroll, unfold”), from ex + volvō (“roll”).
Compare typologically Czech vývoj, Serbo-Croatian развој, Russian разви́ть (razvítʹ), развива́ть (razvivátʹ), разви́ться (razvítʹsja), развива́ться (razvivátʹsja), Russian разви́тие (razvítije), related to Proto-Slavic *viti (whence Czech vít, Russian вить (vitʹ)).
Webster’s 1913
- noun The act of unfolding or unrolling; hence, in the process of growth; development; as, the evolution of a flower from a bud, or an animal from the egg.
- noun A series of things unrolled or unfolded. "The whole evolution of ages." Dr. H. More.
Etymology [L. evolutio an unrolling: cf. F. évolution evolution. See Evolve.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “evolution”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details