Teleology
Pronunciation : Te`le*ol"o*gy
Part of Speech : n.
Etymology : [Gr. teleos, the end or issue + -logy: cf. F. t?l?ologie.]
Definition : Defn: The doctrine of the final causes of things; specif. (Biol.),
Defn: the doctrine of design, which assumes that the phenomena of organic life, particularly those of evolution, are explicable only by purposive causes, and that they in no way admit of a mechanical explanation or one based entirely on biological science; the doctrine of adaptation to purpose.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913