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MESOZOIC

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Mes⋅o⋅zo⋅ic

[mez-uh-zoh-ik, mes-, mee-zuh-, -suh-] Geology
–adjective
1. noting or pertaining to an era occurring between 230 and 65 million years ago, characterized by the appearance of flowering plants and by the appearance and extinction of dinosaurs.
–noun
2. the Mesozoic Era or group of systems.

Origin:
1830–40; meso- + zo- + -ic
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Mes·o·zo·ic   (měz'ə-zō'ĭk, měs'-)   
adj.  Of, belonging to, or designating the era of geologic time that includes the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods and is characterized by the development of flying reptiles, birds, and flowering plants and by the appearance and extinction of dinosaurs. See Table at geologic time.
n.  The Mesozoic Era.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

Mesozoic 
1840, from Gk. mesos "middle" + zoe "life." Name coined by British geologist John Phillips for the fossil era "between" the Paleozoic and the Cenozoic.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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