Lamarckian

[luh-mahr-kee-uh n]

adjective

of or relating to Jean de Lamarck or his theory of organic evolution.

noun

a person who holds this theory.

Origin of Lamarckian

First recorded in 1840–50; Lamarck + -ian

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for lamarckian

Historical Examples of lamarckian

Neither jaws nor brain can have been evolved on the Lamarckian principle.
Evolution in Modern Thought
Ernst Haeckel
Even a Lamarckian will allow this to be within the range of possibility.
Heads and Tales
Various
He, being a Lamarckian, ascribes this to the inherited effects of use.
The Making of Species
Douglas Dewar
But even in the two Lamarckian factors there is a difference in grade.
Evolution
Joseph Le Conte
In this controversy, however, there was another string to the Lamarckian bow.
Parallel Paths
Thomas William Rolleston

British Dictionary definitions for lamarckian

Lamarckian

adjective

of or relating to Lamarck

noun

a supporter of Lamarckism

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for lamarckian

Lamarckian

adj.

1846, pertaining to French botanist and zoologist J.B.P. Lamarck (1744-1829), especially his view that the process of evolution includes the inheritance of acquired characteristics.