neptunism

N1E1P3T1U1N1I1S1M3

proper noun

A discredited scientific theory of geology, held by many scientists around the late 18th century and early 19th century, that rocks were formed from the crystallisation of minerals in the early Earth's oceans.

OriginEnglish Neptune ← Middle English Neptune ← Old English Neptune →
Scrabble 13
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Meanings

neptunism1

nounneptunism (uncountable)
  1. alternativeuncountableAlternative form of Neptunism.

Neptunism2

proper noun
  1. historicalA discredited scientific theory of geology, held by many scientists around the late 18th century and early 19th century, that rocks were formed from the crystallisation of minerals in the early Earth's oceans.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
wernerism

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*nebʰ-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*népōts
  3. Etruscan𐌍𐌄𐌐𐌄𐌕𐌄 (nepete)
  4. Proto-Italic*neptūnos
  5. LatinNeptūnus
  6. Old EnglishNeptune
  7. Middle EnglishNeptune
  8. EnglishNeptune
  9. EnglishNeptunism

From Neptune + -ism.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan neptunisme
  • neptunismescientific theory
Chinese Mandarin 水成論 /水成论
  • 水成論 /水成论 (shuǐchénglùn)scientific theory
French neptunisme
  • neptunismescientific theory
German Neptunismus
  • Neptunismusscientific theory
Japanese 水成論, 水成説
  • 水成論 (Suiseiron)scientific theory
  • 水成説 (Suiseisetsu)scientific theory
Cite this entry
APA

neptunism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neptunism

MLA

“neptunism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neptunism. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “neptunism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/neptunism.

Source: neptunism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.