evolution

evolution
\ \ [17] Evolution originally meant simply ‘unfolding’, or metaphorically ‘development’; it was not used in its main current sense, ‘gradual change in form of a species over the centuries’, until the early 19th century. The Scottish geologist Charles Lyell appears to have been the first to do so, in his Principles of Geology 1832, and it was subsequently taken up by Charles Darwin. The word comes from Latin ēvolūtiō, which denoted specifically the unrolling of a papyrus or parchment roll. It was a derivative of ēvolvere, a compound formed from the prefix ex- ‘out’ and volvere ‘roll’ (source also of English convolution, involve, and revolve and related to vault, voluble, volume, vulva, and wallow).
\ \ Cf.⇒ CONVOLUTION, INVOLVE, REVOLVE, VOLUME, WALLOW

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • ÉVOLUTION — Le terme évolution a désigné et désigne encore plusieurs concepts; il sera pris ici dans le sens d’évolution biologique, défini précisément plus loin. Dans cette acception, il est d’un emploi relativement récent. Ni Lamarck ni Darwin ne s’en sont …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Evolution —     Evolution (History and Scientific Foundation)     † Catholic Encyclopedia ► Evolution (History and Scientific Foundation)     The world of organisms comprises a great system of individual forms generally classified according to structural… …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • Evolution — ist die Veränderung der vererbbaren Merkmale einer Population von Lebewesen von Generation zu Generation. Diese Merkmale sind in Form von Genen kodiert, die bei der Fortpflanzung kopiert und an den Nachwuchs weitergegeben werden. Durch Mutationen …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Evolution — Évolution Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Evolution — Saltar a navegación, búsqueda Evolution puede referirse a: Evolution (película), una película dirigida por Ivan Reitman. Evolution (software), antes conocido como Novell Evolution, un gestor de información personal y de trabajo en grupo para… …   Wikipedia Español

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  • Evolution — Sf Entwicklung erw. fach. (18. Jh.) Entlehnung. Unter dem Einfluß von frz. évolution entlehnt aus l. ēvolūtio das Aufrollen, Aufwickeln (einer Buchrolle) , zu l. ēvolvere (ēvolūtum) auseinanderwickeln, entwickeln , zu l. volvere drehen, rollen… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • Evolution — Ev o*lu tion ([e^]v [ o]*l[=u] sh[u^]n), n. [L. evolutio an unrolling: cf. F. [ e]volution evolution. See {Evolve}.] 1. The act of unfolding or unrolling; hence, any process of growth or development; as, the evolution of a flower from a bud, or… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • evolution — UK US /ˌiːvəˈluːʃən/ noun [U or C] ► a gradual process of change and development: the evolution of sth »The evolution of modern management began in the last decades of the nineteenth century. evolution from sth to/into sth »As CEO he has overseen …   Financial and business terms

  • evolution —     Evolution generally describes any gradual process of change. It is used more specifically to describe any theory that explains biological diversity through gradual change derived from initial commonality. There have been many theories of this …   Christian Philosophy

  • evolution — 1620s, an opening of what was rolled up, from L. evolutionem (nom. evolutio) unrolling (of a book), noun of action from evolvere (see EVOLVE (Cf. evolve)). Used in various senses in medicine, mathematics, and general use, including growth to… …   Etymology dictionary

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