Where does “Darwinism” come from?
Darwinism derives from Darwin plus the suffix -ism, which comes from Ancient Greek -ισμός, from Ancient Greek -μός, from Proto-Indo-European -mós, a suffix forming abstract nouns.
Darwinism (English): Various concepts of development or evolution...
Definitions
- Various concepts of development or evolution...
Ancestry of “Darwinism”, step by step
Darwinism traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via French darwinisme
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | darwinisme | Darwinism |
| 2 | French | -ïsme | -ism, variant of -isme following vowels |
| 3 | Latin | -isma | Alternative form of -ismus; -ism |
| 4 | Latin | -ismus | -ism |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -ισμός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -μός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -mós | Creates action/result nouns from verb stems |
via English darwin
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | darwin | A unit of evolutionary change in evolutionary... |
| 2 | Old English | Dēorwine | {{non-gloss definition|a given name}} |
| 3 | Old English | dēore | dear |
| 4 | Proto-West Germanic | diurī | valuable, precious |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | diurijaz | dear, precious; expensive |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | dʰegʷʰ- | to burn; warm, hot |