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Ordovician

 - 3 dictionary results

Or⋅do⋅vi⋅cian

  [awr-duh-vish-uhn] Geology
Use Ordovician in a Sentence
–adjective
1. noting or pertaining to a geologic period of the Paleozoic Era, from 500 million to 425 million years ago, notable for the advent of fish.
–noun
2. the Ordovician Period or System.
Origin:
1879; after the Ordovices (pl.) (< L) an ancient British tribe in N Wales, where rocks characterizing the period were found; see -ian
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Or·do·vi·cian   (ôr'də-vĭsh'ən)   
adj.  Of or belonging to the geologic time, system of rocks, or sedimentary deposits of the second period of the Paleozoic Era, characterized by the appearance of primitive fishes. See Table at geologic time.
n.  The Ordovician Period.

[From Latin Ordovicēs, an ancient Celtic tribe of Wales, from Celtic Ordovices; see weik-3 in Indo-European roots.]
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

Ordovician 
geological period following the Cambrian and preceding the Silurian, 1879, coined by Eng. geologist Charles Lapworth (1842-1920) from L. Ordovices, name of an ancient British tribe in North Wales. The period so called because rocks from it first were studied extensively in the region around Bala in North Wales. The tribe's name is Celtic, lit. "those who fight with hammers," from Celt. base *ordo "hammer" + PIE *wik- "to fight, conquer" (cf. victor).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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