Lamarckism
nounUK /ləˈmɑːkɪzəm/ · US /ləˈmɑɹkɪzəm/
Etymology Internationalism, from Lamarck (i.e. its proponent Jean-Baptiste Lamarck) + -ism.
1
Historical The theory that structural variations, characteristic of species and genera, are produced in animals and plants by the direct influence of physical environments, and especially, in the case of animals, by effort, or by use or disuse of certain organs.
Evolutionary theory
- Coordinate term: Darwinism
- Related terms
- Lamarckian, Lamarckist, Neo-Lamarckism