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Wuthering Heights vocabulary
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transmutation
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synonyms: transformism ???
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Definition:(transformism) 19th-century evolutionary ideas for the altering of one species into another that preceded Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection.text from Wikipedia, licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike---1. The act of transmuting, or the state of being transmuted; as, the transmutation of metals.2. (Geom.) Defn: The change or reduction of one figure or body into another of the same area or solidity, but of a different form, as of a triangle into a square. [rare]3. (Biol.) Defn: The change of one species into another, which is assumed to take place in any development theory of life; transformism.Noah Webster. Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913)---Transmutation of metals (Alchem.), the conversion of base metals into gold or silver, a process often attempted by the alchemists. See Alchemy, and Philosopher's stone, under Philosopher.Noah Webster. Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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Uses:
He published his theory with compelling evidence for evolution in his 1859 book On the Origin of Species, overcoming scientific rejection of earlier concepts of transmutation of species.
Charles Darwin. Darwin’s Journal: The Galapagos
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Suppose that, every morning, when we tore the wrapper off our paper with fevered hands, a transmutation were to take place, and we were to find inside it — oh! I don’t know; shall we say Pascal’s Pensées?” He articulated the title with an ironic emphasis so as not to appear pedantic.
Marcel Proust. In Search of Lost Time [volume 1]
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I was reminded by seeing some stamens, almost red in colour, which seemed to have kept the springtime virulence, the irritant power of stinging insects now transmuted into flowers.
Marcel Proust. In Search of Lost Time [volume 1]
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