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 processes operated in the past in the same way and at the same rates that they operate today. [from 19th c.]

   Antonym: catastrophism

   • 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

the scientific principle that natural processes operated in the past in the same way that they do today

• Finnish: uniformitarianismi
• French: actualisme (fr) m, uniformitarisme m
• German: Aktualismus m
• Irish: aonfhoirmeachas m
• Italian: attualismo (it) m
• Polish: aktualizm m