Cambrian
Americanadjective
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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.
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of or relating to Cambria; Welsh.
noun
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Geology. the Cambrian Period or System.
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a native of Cambria; Welshman.
adjective
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of, denoting, or formed in the first 65 million years of the Palaeozoic era, during which marine invertebrates, esp trilobites, flourished
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of or relating to Wales
noun
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the Cambrian period or rock system
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a Welsh person
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The first period of the Paleozoic Era, from about 540 to 505 million years ago. During this time warm seas and desert land areas were widespread, and animal life diversified rapidly during what is known as the Cambrian Explosion.
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See Chart at geologic time
Other Word Forms
- post-Cambrian adjective
Etymology
Origin of Cambrian
1580–90; < Medieval Latin Cambri ( a ) Wales, Latinization of MWelsh Cymry Wales, literally Welshmen ( Cymry ) + -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.
Among the many Cambrian creatures, one stood out for doing things differently.
From Science Daily
“Creativity could be about to go through a Cambrian explosion, and along with it, the quality of art and entertainment can drastically increase,” Altman wrote, calling this genre of engagement “interactive fan fiction.”
From Los Angeles Times
It flows for 155 miles from its source in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales along the border with England to the Severn Estuary.
From BBC
It's not always an absolutely gobsmacking profusion of uncontrollably bizarre life, as occurred with what's aptly called the Cambrian Explosion, a period about 540 million years ago when evolution got extremely creative.
From Salon
By Saturday morning, there may be up to 5cm of snow for some places in the Brecon Beacons, eastern Cambrian Mountains and perhaps the higher parts of Exmoor.
From BBC
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.
