Devonian
Americanadjective
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Geology. noting or pertaining to a period of the Paleozoic Era, 405 to 345 million years ago, characterized by the dominance of fishes and the advent of amphibians and ammonites.
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of or relating to Devonshire, England.
noun
adjective
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of, denoting, or formed in the fourth period of the Palaeozoic era, between the Silurian and Carboniferous periods, lasting 60-70 million years during which amphibians first appeared
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of or relating to Devon
noun
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The fourth period of the Paleozoic Era, from about 408 to 360 million years ago. During this time there were three major landmasses: most of modern day North America and Europe were located along the equator; a portion of Siberia was located to the north; and a continent consisting of South America, Australia, Africa, India, and Antarctica was located in the Southern Hemisphere. In the early Devonian small plants dominated the landscape, but by the end of the Devonian ferns and seed plants had appeared, as had the first forests. The first tetrapods (terrestrial vertebrates) and terrestrial arthropods appeared, as did many new types of fish.
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See Chart at geologic time
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of Devonian
1605–15; < Medieval Latin Devoni ( a ) Devon + -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.
William revealed he had his scones the Devonian way - layering clotted cream first followed by jam.
From BBC • May 22, 2026
It originated from what scientists consider Australia's first 'Great Barrier Reef,' a Devonian era reef system located in the Kimberley region of northern WA.
From Science Daily • Mar. 12, 2026
The lunar and Martian samples were compared against a control group grown in Devonian soil, an ancient, clay-rich type from Devon, England.
From Salon • Sep. 29, 2025
Their aim was to answer questions about feeding in early vertebrates without jaws in the early Devonian epoch -- sometimes called the Age of Fishes -- around 400 million years ago.
From Science Daily • Apr. 10, 2024
Some sense of the strength of feeling can be gained by glancing through the chapter titles of Martin J. S. Rudwick’s excellent and somber account of the issue, The Great Devonian Controversy.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
