# Darwinism

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈdɑːwɪnɪz(ə)m/ · frequency rank #40,201

## Definitions
1. Charles Darwin's theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection (set out chiefly in his works On the Origin of Species, 1859; and The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, 1871); also, belief in this theory.
2. Charles Darwin's theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection (set out chiefly in his works On the Origin of Species, 1859; and The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, 1871); also, belief in this theory.
3. Charles Darwin's theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection (set out chiefly in his works On the Origin of Species, 1859; and The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, 1871); also, belief in this theory.
4. Charles Darwin's theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection (set out chiefly in his works On the Origin of Species, 1859; and The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, 1871); also, belief in this theory.
5. Charles Darwin's theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection (set out chiefly in his works On the Origin of Species, 1859; and The Descent of Man, and Selection in Relation to Sex, 1871); also, belief in this theory.
6. Erasmus Darwin's poetic style, or theory of natural philosophy suggesting that living organisms developed from simpler lifeforms (set out in his work Zoonomia, 1794–1796).

## Etymology
From Darwin + -ism (suffix forming names of schools of thought, systems, or theories), from the surname of the English natural philosopher, physician, and poet Erasmus Darwin (1731–1802), and his grandson the biologist, geologist, and naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882).
The word was apparently first applied in noun sense 1 (“Charles Darwin’s theory regarding the evolution of living organisms through natural selection”) by the English anthropologist and biologist Thomas Henry Huxley (1825–1895) in 1860: see the quotation.

## Easily confused with
- **Darwinian** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/darwinian-vs-darwinism)

## Common misspellings (14)
`adrwinism`, `dariwnism`, `darrwinism`, `darwiinsm`, `darwinims`, `darwinismm`, `darwinissm`, `darwinnism`, `darwinsim`, `darwniism`, `darwwinism`, `dawrinism`, `ddarwinism`, `drawinism`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/darwinism