evolutionist

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   a person who accepts, studies, or advocates the theory of biological evolution

   The nineteenth-century evolutionist compared related species from several islands.

2. 2
   noun

   a supporter of gradual development or change rather than sudden transformation

   As a political evolutionist, she favored steady institutional reform over revolution.

Formed from evolution + -ist 'a person who supports or practices.' Evolution comes from Latin evolutio 'an unrolling,' from evolvere 'to roll out.' Its biological sense developed in the nineteenth century for theories of the development and diversification of living forms.

Topics