evolutionarily
|e-vo-lu-tion-ar-i-ly|
🇺🇸
/ˌɛvəˈluːʃən(ə)ri/
🇬🇧
/ˌiːvəˈluːʃ(ə)n(ə)ri/
by evolutionary change
Etymology
'evolutionarily' originates from English, specifically from the adjective 'evolutionary' plus the adverbial suffix '-ly'. 'Evolution' in turn comes from Latin 'evolutio', where 'e-' (a variant of 'ex-') meant 'out' and 'volvere' meant 'to roll'.
'evolutionarily' changed from Latin 'evolutio' → French 'évolution' → Modern English 'evolution' → adjective 'evolutionary' and finally formed the adverb 'evolutionarily'.
Initially 'evolutio' meant 'an unrolling or unfolding', but over time it came to mean 'gradual development or change'; 'evolutionarily' now means 'in terms of evolution' or 'as a result of evolutionary processes'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adverb 1
in a manner relating to evolution; from the perspective of evolutionary processes or resulting from long-term biological change.
The species have evolutionarily adapted to the colder climate.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/27 16:57