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What Is Evolution
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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
ev·o·lu·tion    Audio Help   [ev-uh-loo-shuhn or, especially Brit., ee-vuh-] Pronunciation Key
–noun
1.any process of formation or growth; development: the evolution of a language; the evolution of the airplane.
2.a product of such development; something evolved: The exploration of space is the evolution of decades of research.
3.Biology. change in the gene pool of a population from generation to generation by such processes as mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift.
4.a process of gradual, peaceful, progressive change or development, as in social or economic structure or institutions.
5.a motion incomplete in itself, but combining with coordinated motions to produce a single action, as in a machine.
6.a pattern formed by or as if by a series of movements: the evolutions of a figure skater.
7.an evolving or giving off of gas, heat, etc.
8.Mathematics. the extraction of a root from a quantity. Compare involution (def. 8).
9.a movement or one of a series of movements of troops, ships, etc., as for disposition in order of battle or in line on parade.
10.any similar movement, esp. in close order drill.

[Origin: 1615–25; < L évolūtiōn- (s. of évolūtiō) an unrolling, opening, equiv. to évolūt(us) (see evolute) + -iōn- -ion]

ev·o·lu·tion·al, adjective
ev·o·lu·tion·al·ly, adverb

1. unfolding, change, progression, metamorphosis.
1. stasis, inactivity, changelessness.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
evolution

To learn more about evolution visit Britannica.com

© 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
ev·o·lu·tion    Audio Help   (ěv'ə-lōō'shən, ē'və-)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. A gradual process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form. See Synonyms at development.
    1. The process of developing.
    2. Gradual development.
    3. Change in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations, as a result of natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals, and resulting in the development of new species.
    4. The historical development of a related group of organisms; phylogeny.
  2. Biology
    1. Change in the genetic composition of a population during successive generations, as a result of natural selection acting on the genetic variation among individuals, and resulting in the development of new species.
    2. The historical development of a related group of organisms; phylogeny.
  3. A movement that is part of a set of ordered movements.
  4. Mathematics The extraction of a root of a quantity.


[Latin ēvolūtiō, ēvolūtiōn-, from ēvolūtus, past participle of ēvolvere, to unroll; see evolve.]

ev'o·lu'tion·al, ev'o·lu'tion·ar'y (-shə-něr'ē) adj., ev'o·lu'tion·ar'i·ly adv.
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
evolution

noun
1. a process in which something passes by degrees to a different stage (especially a more advanced or mature stage); "the development of his ideas took many years"; "the evolution of Greek civilization"; "the slow development of her skill as a writer" [syn: development] [ant: degeneration
2. (biology) the sequence of events involved in the evolutionary development of a species or taxonomic group of organisms 

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
evolution1 [iːvəˈluːʃən, (American) e-] noun
gradual working out or development
Example: the evolution of our form of government
Arabic: تَطَوُّر، نُشوء
Chinese (Simplified): 发展
Chinese (Traditional): 發展
Czech: vývoj
Danish: udvikling
Dutch: ontwikkeling
Estonian: arenemine
Finnish: kehittyminen
French: évolution
German: die Entwicklung
Greek: εξέλιξη
Hungarian: (ki)fejlődés
Icelandic: þróun
Indonesian: evolusi
Italian: sviluppo
Japanese: 発展
Korean: 발전
Latvian: attīstība
Lithuanian: vystymas(is), raida
Norwegian: utvikling, evolusjon, utfoldelse
Polish: rozwój
Portuguese (Brazil): evolução
Portuguese (Portugal): evolução
Romanian: evoluţie
Russian: процесс изменения
Slovak: vývoj
Slovenian: razvoj
Spanish: evolución, desarrollo
Swedish: utveckling
Turkish: gelişim
evolution2 [iːvəˈluːʃən, (American) e-] noun
the development of the higher kinds of animals (eg man), plants etc, from the lower kinds
Example: Darwin's theory of evolution.
Arabic: إرْتِقاء
Chinese (Simplified): 进化
Chinese (Traditional): 進化
Czech: vývoj
Danish: evolution; udvikling
Dutch: evolutie
Estonian: evolutsioon
Finnish: evoluutio
French: évolution
German: die Evolution
Greek: εξέλιξη
Hungarian: evolúció
Icelandic: (fram)þróun
Indonesian: evolusi
Italian: evoluzione
Japanese: 進化
Korean: 진화
Latvian: evolūcija
Lithuanian: evoliucija
Norwegian: utvikling, evolusjon
Polish: ewolucja
Portuguese (Brazil): evolução
Portuguese (Portugal): evolução
Romanian: evo­lu­ţie
Russian: эволюция
Slovak: vývoj
Slovenian: evolucija
Spanish: evolución
Swedish: evolution
Turkish: evrim
See also: evolve

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd.
The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
evolution    Audio Help   (ěv'ə-l'shən)  Pronunciation Key 
  1. The process by which species of organisms arise from earlier life forms and undergo change over time through natural selection. The modern understanding of the origins of species is based on the theories of Charles Darwin combined with a modern knowledge of genetics based on the work of Gregor Mendel. Darwin observed there is a certain amount of variation of traits or characteristics among the different individuals belonging to a population. Some of these traits confer fitness—they allow the individual organism that possesses them to survive in their environment better than other individuals who do not possess them and to leave more offspring. The offspring then inherit the beneficial traits, and over time the adaptive trait spreads through the population. In twentieth century, the development of the the science of genetics helped explain the origin of the variation of the traits between individual organisms and the way in which they are passed from generation to generation. This basic model of evolution has since been further refined, and the role of genetic drift and sexual selection in the evolution of populations has been recognized. See also natural selection, sexual selection. See Notes at adaptation, Darwin.
  2. A process of development and change from one state to another, as of the universe in its development through time.

Our Living Language  : Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection assumed that tiny adaptations occur in organisms constantly over millions of years. Gradually, a new species develops that is distinct from its ancestors. In the 1970s, however, biologists Niles Eldridge and Stephen Jay Gould proposed that evolution by natural selection may not have been such a smooth and consistent process. Based on fossils from around the world that showed the abrupt appearance of new species, Eldridge and Gould suggested that evolution is better described through punctuated equilibrium. That is, for long periods of time species remain virtually unchanged, not even gradually adapting. They are in equilibrium, in balance with the environment. But when confronted with environmental challenges—sudden climate change, for example—organisms adapt quite quickly, perhaps in only a few thousand years. These active periods are punctuations, after which a new equilibrium exists and species remain stable until the next punctuation.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
evolution

A theory first proposed in the nineteenth century by Charles Darwin, according to which the Earth's species have changed and diversified through time under the influence of natural selection. Life on Earth is thought to have evolved in three stages. First came chemical evolution, in which organic molecules were formed. This was followed by the development of single cells capable of reproducing themselves. This stage led to the development of complex organisms capable of sexual reproduction. Evolution is generally accepted as fact by scientists today, although debates continue over the precise mechanisms involved in the process. (See mutation, punctuated equilibrium, and creation science.)

Note: The first cell is thought to have been formed when the Earth was less than a billion years old.

[Chapter:] Life Sciences


The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Evolution

Ev`o*lu*til"i*ty\, n. [See Evolution.] (Biol.) The faculty possessed by all substances capable of self-nourishment of manifesting the nutritive acts by changes of form, of volume, or of structure. --Syd. Soc. Lex.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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