Pleistocene
English edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Ancient Greek πλεῖστος (pleîstos, “most”) and καινός (kainós, “new”), meaning “newest”, coined by Charles Lyell in 1839.[1]
Pronunciation edit
Adjective edit
Pleistocene (not comparable)
- (geology) Of a geologic epoch within the Quaternary period from about 2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago (earlier definition 1.7 million to 11,000 years ago); marked by the evolution of man, and the extinction of the large mammals.
Translations edit
of the Pleistocene epoch
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Proper noun edit
Pleistocene
- (geology) The Pleistocene epoch.
- 2017, Anthony J. McMichael, Alistair Woodward, Cameron Muir, Climate Change and the Health of Nations, →ISBN, page 89:
- Throughout the Pleistocene, climatic changes exerted another type of selective pressure on human biological evolution, contributing to the rapid emergence of various Homo species over time.
Translations edit
(geology) the Pleistocene epoch
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See also edit
References edit
- ^ Charles Lyell (1839) Nouveaux éléments de géologie (in French), Paris: Pitois-Levranet, page 621
Further reading edit
- Pleistocene on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- “Pleistocene”, in OED Online , Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.