Silurian
UK /saɪˈlʊə.ɹiː.ən/ · US /sɪˈlʊɚ.i.ən/ adjective, noun, proper noun
Forms Silurians the Silurian
- adjective (geology) Of a geologic period within the Paleozoic era; comprises the Llandovery, Wenlock, Ludlow and Pridoli epochs from about 439 to 409 million years ago.
- adjective (archaeology) Of or related to the Silures, a pre-Roman British tribe.
- noun A member of the Silures, an ancient tribe of Britannia.
- proper noun (geology) The Silurian period.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Latin Silurēs + English -ian.
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Of or pertaining to the country of the ancient Silures; --a term applied to the earliest of the Paleozoic eras, and also to the strata of the era, because most plainly developed in that country.
- noun The Silurian age.
Etymology [From L. Silures, a people who anciently inhabited a part of England and Wales.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “Silurian”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details