darwin

IPA/ˈdɑː.wɪn/
KK[dˈɑrwɪn]IPA/ˈdɑːr.wɪn/

darwin — noun

1. Charles Robert Darwin (1809–1882), the English naturalist who developed the theo

1.nounB1
Definition

Charles Robert Darwin (1809–1882), the English naturalist who developed the theory that all living things evolve through natural selection. His book On the Origin of Species (1859) presented evidence for evolution and changed how people understand the diversity of life on Earth.

Example

Lauren read Darwin's On the Origin on the train, underlining passages about natural selection in pencil.

collocation: Darwin's On the Origin of Species

Anjali wrote her school report on Darwin's voyage aboard the HMS Beagle.

collocation: Darwin's voyage

Common collocations
  • Darwin's theory
  • Darwin's finches
  • Darwin's notebooks
  • Darwin's voyage
  • On the Origin of Species
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

Darwin + verb

Darwin's + noun

Usage Note

Frequently appears in possessive form (Darwin's) before scientific terms: Darwin's theory, Darwin's finches, Darwin's notebooks. The adjective Darwinian describes ideas or processes that follow Darwin's principles.

Common Mistakes

Darwin discovered evolution.
Darwin developed the theory of evolution by natural selection.
People before Darwin had suggested evolution; Darwin's contribution was explaining the mechanism (natural selection).

2. Erasmus Darwin (1731–1802), an English physician, poet, and natural philosopher

2.nounC1
Definition

Erasmus Darwin (1731–1802), an English physician, poet, and natural philosopher who wrote about evolution in poetic form before his grandson Charles Darwin. He was also a founding member of the Lunar Society, a group of thinkers and inventors in 18th-century England.

Example

Erasmus Darwin was a well-known physician who treated patients in the English city of Derby.

The Lunar Society brought together thinkers like Erasmus Darwin, James Watt, and Joseph Priestley.

historical context: Lunar Society

Common collocations
  • Erasmus Darwin
  • Darwin's grandfather
  • Lunar Society
  • The Botanic Garden

Grammar Patterns

Erasmus Darwin + verb

Usage Note

In most contexts, Darwin alone refers to Charles Darwin. When talking about Erasmus Darwin, the full name Erasmus Darwin or the informal label Darwin's grandfather is typically used to avoid confusion.

Common Mistakes

Darwin was a physician in the 1700s.
Erasmus Darwin was a physician in the 1700s.
Without the first name, Darwin is understood to mean Charles Darwin.

3. the capital city of the Northern Territory in northern Australia. It is a major

3.nounB1
Definition

the capital city of the Northern Territory in northern Australia. It is a major port on the Timor Sea and serves as a gateway for travellers visiting Kakadu and Litchfield National Parks. The city was named after the naturalist Charles Darwin.

Example

Darwin is the capital city of Australia's Northern Territory, located on the coast.

capital of the Northern Territory

Hui flew into Darwin on her way to explore Kakadu National Park.

Common collocations
  • capital of the Northern Territory
  • port of Darwin
  • Darwin airport
  • Darwin Harbour
  • visit Darwin
Synonyms
  • Darwin city

    used to distinguish the place from the person; common in travel writing

Grammar Patterns

Darwin + is + noun

in/to/from + Darwin

Usage Note

The noun sense and the geographical-name sense both refer to the same city. In this dictionary they are merged into one entry. When speaking Chinese, adding 市 (city) after 達爾文 helps distinguish the city from the scientist. In English, context alone usually makes the meaning clear — compare 'Darwin's theory' (the scientist) with 'I live in Darwin' (the city).

Common Mistakes

I visited Darwin the scientist in Australia.
I visited Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory in Australia.
The city and the scientist share the name; include context like 'the city of' or 'capital' when needed.

Word family

  • Darwinian
    adjectiveC1
  • Darwinism
    nounC1
  • Darwinist
    nounC2
  • Darwinian
    nounC2
  • neo-Darwinism
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All three men studied how living things change over time, but each took a different approach. Lamarck (1744–1829) proposed that organisms pass on traits they acquire during their lifetime — for example, a giraffe stretching its neck would have offspring with longer necks. Modern biology has rejected this mechanism. Darwin (1809–1882) showed that variation already exists in a population and that environmental pressures select which individuals survive to reproduce — a process he called natural selection. Wallace (1823–1913) independently arrived at the same idea of natural selection, and the two presented their findings together in 1858. Unlike Darwin, Wallace did not produce a full-length book explaining the theory. Mendel (1822–1884) discovered the laws of genetic inheritance by experimenting with pea plants, but his work was not widely recognised until after his death. Together, Darwin's theory of natural selection and Mendel's genetics form the foundation of modern evolutionary biology.

Alfred Russel WallaceGregor MendelJean-Baptiste Lamarck

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • Darwin's theory of evolution
  • On the Origin of Species
  • natural selection
  • Darwin's finches

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Darwin is an English surname that comes from the Old English words dēore ('dear, beloved') and wine ('friend'), so the name literally meant 'dear friend'. The city of Darwin in Australia was named after Charles Darwin by the British surveyor John Lort Stokes, who had sailed with Darwin on the HMS Beagle.