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cambrian

 - 3 dictionary results

Cam⋅bri⋅an

  [kam-bree-uhn]
Use cambrian in a Sentence
–adjective
1. Geology. noting or pertaining to a period of the Paleozoic Era, occurring from 570 million to 500 million years ago, when algae and marine invertebrates were the predominant form of life.
2. of or pertaining to Cambria; Welsh.
–noun
3. Geology. the Cambrian Period or System.
4. a native of Cambria; Welshman.
Origin:
1580–90; < ML Cambri(a) Wales, Latinization of MWelsh Cymry Wales, lit. Welshmen (see Cymry ) + -an
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Cam·bri·an   (kām'brē-ən, kām'-)   
adj.  

  1. Of or relating to Wales; Welsh.

  2. Of or belonging to the geologic time, system of rocks, or sedimentary deposits of the first period of the Paleozoic Era, characterized by desert land areas, warm seas, and rapid early diversification of marine life resulting in the rise of almost all modern animal phyla. See Table at geologic time.

n.  

  1. A Welshman or Welshwoman.

  2. The Cambrian Period.


[From Medieval Latin Cambria, Wales, alteration of Cumbria from Welsh Cymry. Adj., sense 2, and n., sense 2, after Cambria.]
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

Cambrian 
1656, "from or of Wales or the Welsh," from Cambria, variant of Cumbria, Latinized derivation of Cymry, the name of the Welsh for themselves, from O.Celt. Combroges "compatriots." Geological sense (of rocks first studied in Wales and Cumberland) is from 1836.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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