diffusionismn.
/dᵻˈfjuːʒn̩ɪz(ə)m/, /dᵻˈfjuːʒənɪz(ə)m/, U.S. /dᵻˈfjuʒəˌnɪz(ə)m/ Cultural Anthropology.
The theory that all or most cultural similarities result from diffusion (diffusion n. 4b).
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the world > people > science of mankind > [noun] > anthropology > theories in
anthroponomy1811
environmental determinism1892
biologism1912
environmentalism1917
diffusionism1918
monoanthropism1950
1918 Amer. Jrnl. Sociol. 23 534 The extreme form of diffusionism advocated by men like Graebner and Elliot Smith.
a1942 B. Malinowski Sci. Theory of Culture (1944) iii. 21 The basis of diffusionism must be a correct identification of cultural realities plotted on the map.
1993 R. Hughes Culture of Complaint ii. vi. 134 This kind of naive diffusionism, in which ideas and cultural forms start at point A and then radiate to other cultures..is not one that finds much favor with historians today.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1918