Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Evolution
(1,841 words)

1. Terminological history

The term “evolution” (Latin evolutio, “unrolling”, “opening”) became a technical term, primarily in biology, only around 300 years ago. At first, it referred to the individual development of an organism, that is, the entire developmental process of an individual from the ovum to adulthood (ontogenesis…

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Toepfer, Georg, “Evolution”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_019008>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20180126



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