darwin

nouncommon in dialogue

A unit of evolutionary change in evolutionary biology.

noun

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.
The rate of evolutionary change in a species' wing or leg or beak (remember Darwin's finches mentioned in Chapter 1?) is assessed in degree-of-physical-change units called darwins.
For instance, gradual change is relatively common in vertebrates (about .08 darwins), though some rapidly evolving vertebrates lineages show rates as high as 10 darwins, over short periods.

Etymology

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

Forms

plural: darwins

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darwin · A unit of evolutionary change in evolutionary biology.

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