pre-Columbian
Americanadjective
adjective
Etymology
Origin of pre-Columbian
First recorded in 1885–90
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.
In that time, he has brought to life a megasculpture 1.5 miles long by a half-mile wide—informed, he has said, by ritual sites and monuments of the pre-Columbian age.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 15, 2026
The terrain is difficult enough and inaccessible enough that it likely would not have been utilized even by pre-Columbian peoples, certainly not in a permanent way.
From Salon • Apr. 26, 2025
Ancient Aztec communities from the pre-Columbian period of Mesoamerica had a rich mythological codex that was also part of their ritual and sacrificial ceremonies.
From Science Daily • Nov. 19, 2024
A wooden bookcase piled with works of pre-Columbian history, archaeology and artist catalogs sags in the middle.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2024
If recent reappraisals of the pre-Columbian New World population are correct, it was not far below the contemporary population of Eurasia.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
