noun
1. : a school of economics developed in Germany in the middle of the 19th century that emphasizes institutional factors in society and pursues a systematic investigation of the development of economic institutions — compare classical 3b(3)
2. : a school of legal philosophy that emphasizes the relation of the evolution of law to the historical milieu and minimizes the importance of arbitrary human action and of natural processes to its development
3. : a school of ethnology that emphasizes empirical study of the historical continuity of a specific culture or culture area as contrasted with comparative study of diverse or related cultures or culture areas