evolution

Where does the word "evolution" come from? It comes from Latin evolutio, and was adopted directly into English (1850s).

Evolution’s story begins in Latin: evolutio meant “unrolling.” 'unrolling', as of a papyrus scroll, from evolvere 'to roll out'. It reached English by 1850s as evolution. First used of unfolding or military manoeuvres; Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859) ends with 'evolved' but first used 'evolution' in its sixth edition of 1872. Today, evolution means the process by which living things develop over generations; gradual development.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · classical evolutio "unrolling", 'unrolling', as of a papyrus scroll, from evolvere 'to roll out'.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1850s evolution "change in species over generations", first used of unfolding or military manoeuvres; Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859) ends with 'evolved' but first used 'evolution' in its sixth edition of 1872.