Precambrian
See also: Pre-Cambrian
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
Pronunciation edit
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Adjective edit
Precambrian (not comparable)
- (informal, geology) Relating to the time and geology dated before the Phanerozoic
- 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 209:
- When you look at a Precambrian trilobite in the lobby of a New York bank, it is difficult to speculate about its primeval environment.
Translations edit
before the Phanerozoic
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Proper noun edit
Precambrian
- (geology) The Precambrian supereon; spanning from the formation of the Earth around 4.6 billion years ago to the emergence of hard-shelled creatures 541 million years ago.
Usage notes edit
- The International Commission on Stratigraphy, which attempts to standardize the vocabulary of the field, is revising the boundaries between time periods based on physical-science methods rather than the kinds of fossils present.
- The boundary between the Precambrian and the Phanerozoic has been changed from time to time and will be subject to change, as will the eons listed as Hyponyms below.
Synonyms edit
- (geological supereon): Cryptozoic (archaic)
Hyponyms edit
- (geological supereon): Hadean, Archaean, Proterozoic - eons
Coordinate terms edit
- (geological supereon): Phanerozoic
Translations edit
eon before the Phanerozoic
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