Environmentalism
/ɪnˌvaɪərənˈmentəlɪzəm/noun
A movement or philosophy focused on protecting the natural environment and addressing human impacts on it.
Did you know?Environment originally described a person’s surrounding circumstances, not specifically nature; its ecological meaning developed much later, especially in the 20th century.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wer-
“To turn, bend, or revolve; a proposed deep root behind several later turning words.”
Classical Latin
Latin
vibrāre
“To shake, swing, or brandish; sometimes proposed as an ancestor of the Old French turning verb linked with environ.”
12th–13th Century
Old French
virer
“To turn, veer, or change direction.”
14th Century
Old French
environ
“Around, round about, or surrounding.”
17th Century
English
environment
“The surrounding conditions or circumstances of a person, place, or thing.”
19th Century
English
environmental
“Relating to the surrounding conditions, increasingly including physical and natural surroundings.”
20th Century
English
environmentalism
“A movement advocating protection of the natural environment and reform of human activities affecting it.”