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Cretaceous - 7 dictionary results

cre⋅ta⋅ceous

[kri-tey-shuh

–adjective

1.	resembling or containing chalk.

2.	(initial capital letter) Geology. noting or pertaining to a period of the Mesozoic Era, from 140 million to 65 million years ago, characterized by the greatest development and subsequent extinction of dinosaurs and the advent of flowering plants and modern insects.

–noun

3.	(initial capital letter) Geology. the Cretaceous Period or System.

Origin:
1665–70; < L crētāceus, equiv. to crēt(a) chalk, clay (cf. crayon ) + -āceus -aceous; the geological period was defined from the chalk beds of SE England and associated formations

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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Cre·ta·ceous (krĭ-tā'shəs) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Of or belonging to the geologic time, system of rocks, and sedimentary deposits of the third and last period of the Mesozoic Era, characterized by the development of flowering plants and ending with the sudden extinction of the dinosaurs and many other forms of life. See Table at geologic time.
cretaceous Of, containing, or resembling chalk.

n. The Cretaceous Period or its system of deposits.

[From Latin crētāceus, chalky, from crēta, chalk, from Crēta (terra), Cretan (earth).]
cre·ta'ceous·ly adv.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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cretaceous

c.1675, adj., "chalky," from L. cretaceus "chalky," from creta "chalk." As a geological period (with a capital C-), it was first used 1832. The extensive chalk beds of southeastern England were laid down during the Cretaceous.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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cretaceous
adjective
1.	abounding in chalk
2.	of or relating to or denoting the third period of the Mesozoic era
noun
1.	from 135 million to 63 million years ago; end of the age of reptiles; appearance of modern insects and flowering plants

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Cretaceous (krĭ-tā'shəs) Pronunciation Key

The third and last period of the Mesozoic Era, from about 144 to 65 million years ago. During this time the supercontinent Pangaea continued to split up, with modern-day South America and Africa splitting apart, the Atlantic Ocean widening, and India disconnecting itself entirely from the other landmasses to which it was attached. Dinosaurs continued to be the dominant terrestrial animals, but many insect groups, modern mammals and birds, and the angiosperms (flowering plants) also first appeared. The Cretaceous Period ended with a mass extinction event in which about 75 percent of all species, including marine, freshwater, and terrestrial organisms, became extinct. See Chart at geologic time.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Cretaceous

Cre*ta"ceous\ (kr[-e]*t[=a]"sh[u^]s), a. [L. cretaceus, fr. creta chalk. See Crayon.] Having the qualities of chalk; abounding with chalk; chalky; as, cretaceous rocks and formations. See Chalk.

Cretaceous acid, an old name for carbonic acid.

Cretaceous formation (Geol.), the series of strata of various kinds, including beds of chalk, green sand, etc., formed in the Cretaceous period; -- called also the chalk formation. See the Diagram under Geology.

Cretaceous period (Geol.), the time in the latter part of the Mesozoic age during which the Cretaceous formation was deposited.

Cretaceous

Cre*ta"ceous\, a. Also Cretacic \Cre*tac"ic\ (Geol.) Of, pertaining to, or designating, the period of time following the Jurassic and preceding the Eocene.

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