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#REDIRECT [[Evolution]] |
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From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: |
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Evolution \Ev`o*lu"tion\, n. [L. evolutio an unrolling: cf. F. |
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['e]volution evolution. See {Evolve}.] |
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1. The act of unfolding or unrolling; hence, in the process |
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of growth; development; as, the evolution of a flower from |
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a bud, or an animal from the egg. |
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2. A series of things unrolled or unfolded. ``The whole |
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evolution of ages.'' --Dr. H. More. |
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3. (Geom.) The formation of an involute by unwrapping a |
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thread from a curve as an evolute. --Hutton. |
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4. (Arith. & Alg.) The extraction of roots; -- the reverse of |
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involution. |
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5. (Mil. & Naval) A prescribed movement of a body of troops, |
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or a vessel or fleet; any movement designed to effect a |
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new arrangement or disposition; a maneuver. |
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Those evolutions are best which can be executed with |
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the greatest celerity, compatible with regularity. |
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--Campbell. |
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6. (Biol.) |
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(a) A general name for the history of the steps by which |
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any living organism has acquired the morphological and |
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physiological characters which distinguish it; a |
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gradual unfolding of successive phases of growth or |
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development. |
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(b) That theory of generation which supposes the germ to |
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pre["e]xist in the parent, and its parts to be |
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developed, but not actually formed, by the procreative |
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act; -- opposed to epigenesis. |
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7. (Metaph.) That series of changes under natural law which |
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involves continuous progress from the homogeneous to the |
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heterogeneous in structure, and from the single and simple |
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to the diverse and manifold in quality or function. The |
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pocess is by some limited to organic beings; by others it |
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is applied to the inorganic and the psychical. It is also |
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applied to explain the existence and growth of |
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institutions, manners, language, civilization, and every |
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product of human activity. The agencies and laws of the |
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process are variously explained by different philosophrs. |
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Evolution is to me series with development. |
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--Gladstone. |
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From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]: |
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evolution |
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n 1: a process in which something passes by degrees to a |
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different stage (especially a more advanced or mature |
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stage); "the development of his ideas took many years"; |
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"the evolution of Greek civilization"; "the slow |
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development of her skill as a writer" [syn: {development}] |
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[ant: {degeneration}] |
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2: (biology) the sequence of events involved in the |
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evolutionary development of a species or taxonomic group |
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of organisms [syn: {phylogeny}, {phylogenesis}] |
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[[Category:Science]] |
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[[Category:Definitions]] |
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Latest revision as of 10:48, 6 May 2006
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