The Collaborative International Dictionary
Neptunian \Nep*tu"ni*an\, Neptunist \Nep"tu*nist\, prop. n. [Cf. F. neptinien, neptuniste.] (Geol.) One who adopts the Neptunian theory.
Usage examples of "neptunist".
By far the most influential Neptunist in the eighteenth century, in fact the most influential geologist of any kind, was Abraham Gottlob Werner, a teacher at the mining school in Freiburg, Germany, who proposed that, once one assumed that the earth, when it cooled, had an uneven surface, and that the waters retreated at a different rate in different areas, the formation of rocks could be explained.
He thought that volcanic activity had a trivial effect on the formation of the earth and though he was himself in no way interested in religion his Neptunist theory fitted very well with the biblical account of the Flood, which is one reason why it was so popular across Europe.