Carboniferous

[ kahr-buh-nif-er-uhs ]

/ ˌkɑr bəˈnɪf ər əs /

Geology

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adjective

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.

(lowercase) producing carbon or coal.

noun

the Carboniferous Period or System.

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Origin of Carboniferous

1790–1800; <Latin carbōn- (stem of carbō) coal + -i- + -ferous

OTHER WORDS FROM Carboniferous

post-Car·bon·if·er·ous, adjectivepre-Car·bon·if·er·ous, adjective

Words nearby Carboniferous

carbon footprint, carbonic, carbonic acid, carbonic-acid gas, carbonic anhydrase, Carboniferous, carbonium ion, carbonization, carbonize, carbonless paper, carbon microphone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Carboniferous in a sentence

Ninety percent of all the fossil fuels—coal, oil, gas—that we burn today were deposited during the Devonian, Carboniferous, and Permian periods.
Why Birds Can Fly Over Mount Everest - Issue 94: Evolving|Walter Murch|December 30, 2020|Nautilus
In New Brunswick the Carboniferous rocks occupy a large area, but the coal seams so far developed are thin and unimportant.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 2|Various
At the close of Carboniferous times a marked change took place in the nature of the earth-movements.
The Principles of Stratigraphical Geology|J. E. Marr
Pressure seems to have played a considerable part in the formation of carboniferous strata.
The Underground City|Jules Verne

The volcanic outbursts which followed became feebler in the Devonian and Carboniferous periods and ceased with the Permian.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 4|Various
The city cemetery is artificially made of fine carboniferous earth, on which vegetation springs up quickly.
Chambers's Journal of Popular Literature, Science, and Art|Various

British Dictionary definitions for Carboniferous (1 of 2)

carboniferous

/ (ˌkɑːbəˈnɪfərəs) /

adjective

yielding coal or carbon

British Dictionary definitions for Carboniferous (2 of 2)

Carboniferous

/ (ˌkɑːbəˈnɪfərəs) /

adjective

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

noun

the Carboniferous the Carboniferous period or rock system

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for Carboniferous

Carboniferous

[ kär′bə-nĭf′ər-əs ]

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.