Carboniferous
Use Carboniferous in a sentence
bəˈnɪf adjective
1.
noting or pertaining to a period of the Paleozoic Era, including the Pennsylvanian and Mississippian periods as epochs, occurring from 345 million to 280 million years ago. See table under geologic time.
2.
( lowercase ) producing carbon or coal.
noun
3.
the Carboniferous Period or System.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To carboniferous
Collins
World English Dictionary
carboniferous (ˌkɑːbəˈnɪfərəs) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| yielding coal or carbon | |
00:10
Carboniferous
is always a great word to know.
So is callithumpian. Does it mean:
| a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc. |
| a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes. |
| Carboniferous (ˌkɑːbəˈnɪfərəs) | |
| —adj | |
| 1. | of, denoting, or formed in the fifth period of the Palaeozoic era, between the Devonian and Permian periods, lasting for nearly 64 million years during which coal measures were formed |
| —n | |
| 2. | the Carboniferous the Carboniferous period or rock system |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
Carboniferous
the geological period (1830) is from a word formed in English 1799 from L. carbo (gen. carbonis) "coal" (see carbon) + -ferous "producing, containing." The great coal beds of Europe were laid down during this period.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
Carboniferous  (kär'bə-nĭf'ər-əs) Pronunciation Key
The period of geologic time from about 360 to 286 million years ago. The term is used throughout the world, although this period of time has been separated into the Mississippian (lower Carboniferous) and Pennsylvanian (upper Carboniferous) in the United States. During this time, widespread swamps formed in which plant remains accumulated and later hardened into coal. See Chart at geologic time. |
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences from the web
The first amniotes apparently arose in the late carboniferous.
A less intense extinction event also occurred at the end of carboniferous.
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