Evolution (general usage)

Evolution is a gradual process in which a thing, idea, or system changes or develops over time.

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Feedback loop: A process in which a system’s outputs influence its later inputs. Feedback can amplify small changes or stabilize a developing system.
Technological evolution: The historical development of technologies through modification, combination, and replacement. It shows how tools and technical systems change across generations.
Revolution: A rapid, fundamental change in a system or established order. It names change that is abrupt rather than gradual.
Innovation: The introduction or use of a new idea, method, or product. Novel changes can become starting points for later development.
Path dependence: A process in which earlier events constrain or shape later possibilities. Past changes can make some future developments easier than others.
Cultural evolution: The change and transmission of cultural traits across people and generations. Ideas and practices can spread and transform through social learning.
Stasis: A condition of little or no change over time. It marks the limiting case in which development appears absent.
Historical contingency: The influence of particular past events on how later outcomes unfold. A system’s present form can preserve the imprint of its changing history.
Emergence: The appearance of system-level patterns or properties arising from interactions among components. New properties can develop without being planned by any single component.
Language change: The transformation of languages over time in pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and use. Languages develop through accumulated changes in speech and social practice.