Eocene - Definitions from Dictionary.com

7 results for: Eocene

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

E·o·cene

Audio Help [ee-uh-seen] Pronunciation Key Geology

–adjective

1.	noting or pertaining to an epoch of the Tertiary Period, occurring from 55 to 40 million years ago and characterized by the advent of the modern mammalian orders.

–noun

2.	the Eocene Epoch or Series.

[Origin: 1825–35; eo- + -cene

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Eocene

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

E·o·cene Audio Help   (ē'ə-sēn') Pronunciation Key
adj.   Of or belonging to the geologic time, rock series, or sedimentary deposits of the second epoch of the Tertiary Period, characterized by warm climates and the rise of most modern mammalian families. See Table at geologic time.

n.   The Eocene Epoch or its system of deposits.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Eocene

"second epoch of the Tertiary Period," coined in Eng. 1831, from Gk. eos "dawn" (see eohippus) + kainos "new;" along with Miocene and Pliocene, by William Whewell.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

eocene
noun
from 58 million to 40 million years ago; presence of modern mammals

The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Eocene Audio Help (ē'ə-sēn') Pronunciation Key
The second epoch of the Tertiary Period, from about 58 to 37 million years ago. During the earliest part of this epoch, land connections existed between Antarctica and Australia, between Europe and North America, and between North America and Asia, and the climate was warm. The land connection between Antarctica and Australia disappeared in the mid-Eocene and early Oligocene, resulting in a change in the predominant oceanic currents and a cooler climate. With this change, the average size of mammals changed from less than 10 kg (22 lbs) to more than 10 kg. The Himalayas also formed during the Eocene, and most modern orders of mammals appeared. See Chart at geologic time.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Eocene

E"o*cene\, a. [Gr. ? daybreak, dawn + ? new, recent.] (Geol.) Pertaining to the first in time of the three subdivisions into which the Tertiary formation is divided by geologists, and alluding to the approximation in its life to that of the present era; as, Eocene deposits. -- n. The Eocene formation. --Lyell.

On-line Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

eocene

eocene: in CancerWEB's On-line Medical Dictionary

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