uniformitarianism

English

Etymology

From uniformitarian +‎ -ism, coined by English polymath William Whewell in 1837.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /juːnɪfɔːmɪˈtɛːɹɪənɪzm/

Noun

uniformitarianism (uncountable)

  1. (chiefly geology) The scientific principle that natural laws and processes operated in the past in the same way and at the same rates that they operate today, and sometimes in the same way everywhere in the universe as well. [from 19th c.]
    Antonyms: catastrophism, convulsionism
    • 2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 20:
      There has been much puffy stuff written about whether Lyell's uniformitarianism permitted variations in intensity of causes, or whether he applied his logic in a consistent way, and whether he assumed indefinite stretches of geological time.

Translations

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