evolutionary

Etymology

From evolution + -ary.

adj

1. Of or relating to the biological theory of evolution.
   It is likely that the long evolutionary trajectory of Mycoplasma went from a reductive autotroph to oxidative heterotroph to a cell-wall–defective degenerate parasite. This evolutionary trajectory assumes the simplicity to complexity route of biogenesis, a point of view that is not universally accepted. 2013-03, Harold J. Morowitz, “The Smallest Cell”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 2, archived from the original on 2017-01-04, page 83
   The evolutionary history of marine mammals includes land-dwelling ancestors.
2. Having formal similarities to the biological theory of evolution.
   The basic elements of an evolutionary growth theory are discussed in Section II. 1974 Dec., Richard R. Nelson, Sidney G. Winter, “Neoclassical vs. Evolutionary Theories of Economic Growth: Critique and Prospectus”, in The Economic Journal, volume 84, number 336, →DOI, →JSTOR, pages 886–905