Triassic

[ trahy-as-ik ]

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to a period of the Mesozoic Era, occurring from 230 to 190 million years ago and characterized by the advent of dinosaurs and coniferous forests.

noun

1. Also Tri·as [] the Triassic Period or System.

Triassic

/ traɪˈæsɪk /

adjective

1. of, denoting, or formed in the first period of the Mesozoic era that lasted for 42 million years and during which reptiles flourished

noun

1. the Triassic
   the TriassicTrias the Triassic period or rock system

Triassic

/ trī-ăs′ĭk /

1. The earliest period of the Mesozoic Era, from about 245 to 208 million years ago. During the early part of the Triassic Period the supercontinent Pangaea was located along the equator; by the end of the Triassic it had started to split up. Land life diversified in the Triassic in response to the mass extinctions of the end of the Paleozoic. Conifers, cycads, marine reptiles, dinosaurs, and the earliest mammals first appeared.
2. See Chart at geologic time

Other Words From

• post-Tri·assic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Triassic¹

1835–45; Trias the three-part series of strata characterizing the period (< German < Greek triás; triad ) + -ic

Word History and Origins

Origin of Triassic¹

C19: from Latin trias triad, with reference to the three subdivisions

Example Sentences

The Triassic flora is essentially similar to that of the higher Permian strata, though many of the genera are different.

From Project Gutenberg

Desert conditions, with confined inland seas, marked the Permian and Triassic periods.

From Project Gutenberg

Triassic plain from the south coast at the mouth of the Exe to the east coast at the mouth of the Tees.

From Project Gutenberg

In Britain they contain very few fossils, but these are more abundant in the Triassic deposits of foreign countries.

From Project Gutenberg

On these lands of the Triassic time the air-breathing life made very rapid advances.

From Project Gutenberg