Microevolution

Origin

- + evolution

Full definition of microevolution

Noun

1. small-scale changes in the history of life, such as changes in allele frequencies in a population (over a few generations); also known as change at or below the species level.

Usage notes

The term microevolution was introduced to distinguish small-scale patterns of evolution from extinction and large-scale factors, which are termed macroevolution.

Hypernyms

• evolution

Coordinate terms

• macroevolution