paleo-

See also: paleo, paleó, paléo-, palaeo-, palæo-, and paläo-

English

Alternative forms

• palaeo-, palae-
• pale-
• palæo-, palæ- (archaic or archaicizing)

Etymology

From Ancient Greek παλαιός (palaiós, “old”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈpæl.i.əʊ/, /ˈpeɪ.li.əʊ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈpæl.i.ə/, /ˈpeɪ.li.ə/, /-oʊ/

Prefix

paleo-

1. Old; ancient or primitive
2. Related to paleontology.
3. Used to form informal names of taxa; basal.

Antonyms

• neo-

Derived terms

English terms prefixed with paleo-

palaeoaeolian

paleoalgology

paleoaltimetry

Paleo-American

paleoanthropic

paleoanthropologist

paleoanthropology

paleoanthropometric

paleoanthropometry

paleoarch

Paleoarchean

paleoarcheology

Palearctic

paleoart

paleoartist

paleoastronomy

paleoatmosphere

paleoatmospheric

paleoattine

paleoauxology

Paleo-Balkan

paleobaramin

paleobasin

paleobathymetric

paleobathymetry

paleobeach

paleobehaviour

paleobehavioural

paleobiodiversity

paleobiogeographic

paleobiogeography

paleobiogeology

paleobiolinguistic

paleobiolinguistics

paleobiologic

paleobiological

paleobiologist

paleobiology

paleobioprovince

paleobiota

paleobotanical

paleobotanically

paleobotanist

paleobotany

paleoburrow

paleocamelid

paleocarbonate

paleocave

paleocerebellum

paleochannel

paleochristian

paleochronological

paleochronology

paleoclassical

paleoclimate

paleoclimatic

paleoclimatical

paleoclimatological

paleoclimatologist

paleoclimatology

paleocollapse

paleocolony

paleocommunity

paleoconnection

paleoconservatism

paleoconservative

paleocontact

paleocontinent

paleocontinental

paleocoordinate

paleocortex

paleocortical

paleocribellate

paleocurrent

paleocytological

paleocytology

paleodata

paleodeme

paleodemographer

paleodemographic

paleodemographical

paleodemography

paleodeposition

paleodepositional

paleodepth

paleodermatoglyphic

paleodermatoglyphics

paleodesert

paleodicots

Paleo diet

paleodiet

paleodietary

paleodistribution

paleodistributional

paleodiversity

paleodose

paleodosimetric

paleodosimetry

paleodrainage

paleodune

paleodynamics

paleoecologic

paleoecological

paleoecologist

paleoecology

paleoecosystem

paleoelevation

paleoencephalon

paleoendemic

paleoendemism

paleoentomological

paleoentomology

paleoenvironment

paleoenvironmental

paleoepidemiological

paleoepidemiology

paleoequator

paleoequatorial

Paleo-Eskimo

paleoethnobotanical

paleoethnobotanist

paleoethnobotany

paleoethnographic

paleoethnography

paleoethnology

paleoethological

paleoethology

paleoevolution

paleoevolutionary

paleofaeces

paleofantasy

paleofauna

paleofaunal

paleofecal

paleofeces

paleofield

paleofire

paleofish

paleoflora

paleofloral

paleofloristic

paleoflow

paleofluid

paleofluvial

paleoforensic

paleoforest

Paleogene

paleogenetic

paleogeneticist

paleogenetics

paleogenomic

paleogenomics

paleogeographic

paleogeographical

paleogeographically

paleogeography

paleogeological

paleogeologist

paleogeology

paleogeomorphology

paleoglacier

paleograph

paleographer

paleography

paleogravel

paleohabitat

paleoherb

paleoherpetology

paleohexaploid

paleohexaploidisation

paleohexaploidization

paleohexaploidy

paleo-high

Paleohispanic

paleohistological

paleohistologist

paleohistology

paleohistopathological

paleohistopathology

paleohistorical

paleohistory

paleohorizontal

paleohuman

paleohumidity

palaeohydrogeology

paleohydrographic

paleohydrography

paleohydrologic

paleohydrological

paleohydrologist

paleoichnological

paleoichnologist

paleoichnology

paleoichthyological

paleoichthyologist

paleoichthyology

paleoillustrator

paleoimmunology

Paleo-Indian

paleoindication

Translations

old

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 古- (zh) (gǔ-)

• Finnish: paleo- (fi), muinais- (fi)
• French: paléo- (fr)
• German: paläo- (de)
• Greek: παλαιο- (el) (palaio-)
• Irish: pailé(a)-
• Japanese: 旧- (ja) (きゅう-, kyū-)
• Portuguese: paleo-
• Vietnamese: -cổ

primitive

• Finnish: paleo- (fi)
• Irish: pailé(a)-
• Portuguese: paleo-

related to paleontology

• Finnish: paleo- (fi)
• French: paléo- (fr)
• Greek: παλαιο- (el) (palaio-)
• Irish: pailé(a)-
• Portuguese: paleo-

Catalan

Etymology

From Ancient Greek παλαιός (palaiós, “old”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [pəˌle.u]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [pəˌle.o]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [paˌle.o]

(attracts secondary stress)

Prefix

paleo-

1. paleo-, old

   Antonym: neo-

Derived terms

Catalan terms prefixed with paleo-

paleoclimatologia

paleòleg

paleolític

paleontòleg

paleontologia

Further reading

• “paleo-”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2025.

Esperanto

Etymology

From Ancient Greek παλαιός (palaiós, “old”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paˈleo/
• Rhymes: -eo
• Hyphenation: pa‧le‧o

Prefix

paleo-

1. (sciences) paleo-

   ‎paleo- + ‎botaniko (“botany”) → ‎paleobotaniko (“paleobotany”)

   ‎paleo- + ‎ekologio (“ecology”) → ‎paleoekologio (“paleoecology”)

   ‎paleo- + ‎magnetismo (“magnetism”) → ‎paleomagnetismo (“paleomagnetism”)

   ‎paleo- + ‎grundo (“soil”) → ‎paleogrundo (“paleosol”)

Derived terms

Esperanto terms prefixed with paleo-

paleobotaniko

paleoekologo

paleogrundo

paleomagnetismo

paleografo

Finnish

Etymology

Internationalism (see English paleo-), ultimately from Ancient Greek παλαιός (palaiós).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɑleo-/, [ˈpɑ̝le̞o̞-]

Prefix

paleo-

1. paleo-

Derived terms

Finnish terms prefixed with paleo-

paleoaasialainen

paleoafrikkalainen

paleoarkeeinen

paleoepidemiologia

paleografinen

paleolimnologia

paleomaantiede

paleomagnetismi

paleosiperialainen

Anagrams

• lepoa

Italian

Alternative forms

• pale- (before a vowel)

Prefix

paleo-

1. paleo-

Derived terms

Italian terms prefixed with paleo-

paleoalveo

paleoambientale

paleoambiente

paleoamericano

paleoantropologia

paleoantropologico

paleoantropologo

paleoartico

paleoasiatico

paleobiologia

paleobotanica

paleobotanico

paleocapitalismo

paleoclimatologia

paleocristiano

paleoecologia

paleoecologico

paleoetnologia

paletnologia

paletnologico

paletnologo

paleofitologia

paleogenetico

paleogeografia

paleogeografico

paleogeografo

paleografia

paleografo

paleoindustrialismo

paleoispanico

paleolitico

paleomagnetico

paleomagnetismo

paleomarxismo

paleontologia

paleontologo

paleornitologia

paleopallio

paleopatologia

paleopatologico

paleopatologo

paleoslavo

paleosuperficie

paleotelevisione

paleotettonica

Paleoveneti

paleovulcanismo

paleozoico

paleozoologia

paleozoologico

• paleoavanguardia
• paleobiogeografia
• Paleocene
• paleoconservatore
• paleocorteccia
• Paleogene
• paleoindustriale
• paleontografico
• paleopallio
• paleottero

See also

• archeo- (“archaeo-”)

Anagrams

• opale

Portuguese

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek παλαιός (palaiós, “old”).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: pa‧le‧o-

Prefix

paleo-

1. paleo-

Derived terms

Portuguese terms prefixed with paleo-

paleoarte

paleoartista

paleocristão

paleografia

paleógrafo

paleolítico

paleontologia

paleotoca

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /paleo/ [pa.le.o]
• Syllabification: pa‧le‧o-

Prefix

paleo-

1. paleo-

Derived terms

Spanish terms prefixed with paleo-

paleoambiente

paleoamericano

paleoantropología

paleoartista

paleoclima

paleodistribución

paleoecología

paleoecológico

paleógeno

paleógrafo

paleohispánico

paleolítico

paleopatología

Further reading

• “paleo-”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Swedish

Prefix

paleo-

1. paleo-; prehistoric, pertaining to paleontology

Derived terms

Swedish terms prefixed with paleo-

paleontolog