Pennsylvanian
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the state of Pennsylvania.
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Geology. noting or pertaining to a period of the Paleozoic Era, occurring from about 310 to 280 million years ago and characterized by warm climates, swampy land areas, and the development of insects and reptiles: sometimes considered as an epoch of the Carboniferous Period.
noun
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a native or inhabitant of Pennsylvania.
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Geology. the Pennsylvanian Period or System.
adjective
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of the state of Pennsylvania
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(in North America) of, denoting, or formed in the upper of two divisions of the Carboniferous period, which lasted 30 million years, during which coal measures were formed See also Mississippian
noun
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an inhabitant or native of the state of Pennsylvania
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the Pennsylvanian period or rock system, equivalent to the Upper Carboniferous of Europe
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The sixth period of the Paleozoic Era, from about 320 to 286 million years ago. Rock deposits from this period of time alternate between being marine and terrestrial in origin, and are rich in coal. Reptiles first appeared in the Pennsylvanian Period.
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See Chart at geologic time
Etymology
Origin of Pennsylvanian
First recorded in 1675–85; Pennsylvani(a) + -an
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Yet, with the severely-sloped greens playing firm in the Pennsylvanian sun, and the thick rough continuing to be penal, scoring opportunities remained at a premium.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
Sen. John Fetterman may be the one exception, and as a native Pennsylvanian and Marine veteran, I am truly proud of him.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026
For months, activists have been demanding more support from city leadership, explained Elias Siegelman, an activist who works with No ICE Philly, which meets in the quintessentially Pennsylvanian location of a Quaker meeting house.
From Salon • Jan. 28, 2026
On Tuesday, the Washington Post’s Style section published a profile of Simone and Malcolm Collins, a Pennsylvanian couple who’ve been covered by countless other media outlets over the years.
From Slate • Feb. 6, 2025
“This was a great man, Captain William Farnsworth Cook, of the Pennsylvanian Fifth Regiment. He was my grandfather. You will not bury him without a prayer.”
From "Fever 1793" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
