Darwin

//ˈdɑːwɪn// name, noun, slang

name, noun, slang ·Moderate ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A unit of evolutionary change in evolutionary biology.

    "One darwin (d) equals the rate of evolution that would produce a change in size by a factor of approximately 2.7 in one million years."

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A surname, especially referring to Charles Darwin (1809–1882), British naturalist and founder of the theory of evolution by natural selection.
  2. 2
    Alternative form of Derwent (English locative name). alt-of, alternative
  3. 3
    A municipality of Río Negro province, Argentina.
  4. 4
    The capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia.
  5. 5
    A ghost town in Tasmania, Australia.
Show 12 more definitions
  1. 6
    A settlement on the peninsula of Lafonia, East Falkland island, Falkland Islands.
  2. 7
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community and census-designated place in Inyo County, California.
  3. 8
    A number of places in the United States:; A ghost town in Fresno County, California.
  4. 9
    A number of places in the United States:; A township and unincorporated community therein, in Clark County, Illinois.
  5. 10
    A number of places in the United States:; A township and minor city in Meeker County, Minnesota.
  6. 11
    A number of places in the United States:; A small unincorporated community in Bedford Township, Meigs County, Ohio.
  7. 12
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Pushmataha County, Oklahoma.
  8. 13
    A number of places in the United States:; A ghost town in Webb County, Texas.
  9. 14
    A number of places in the United States:; An unincorporated community in Dickenson County, Virginia.
  10. 15
    A male given name transferred from the surname, deriving from the Old English name Dēorwine and revived through the surname.
  11. 16
    Ellipsis of Darwin College, Cambridge. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, informal
  12. 17
    An open-source Unix operating system first released by Apple.

Synonyms

All synonyms
charles robert darwin

Example

More examples

"We associate Darwin with the theory of evolution."

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English Darwin, Derwin, from Old English Dēorwine (“a given name”), composed of dēore (“dear”) + wine (“friend”). The city in Australia is named after Charles Darwin.

Etymology 2

Variant of Derwent.

Etymology 3

Named after Charles Darwin, coined by J.B.S. Haldane in 1949.

Related phrases

Darwin AwardDarwin DayDarwin driftDarwin fishDarwin outDarwin stubbyDarwin's BulldogDarwin's beetleDarwin's finchDarwin's frogDarwin's nothuraDarwin's rhea

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.