Gondwana

American  

[gond-wah-nuh] / gɒndˈwɑ nə /

noun

1. a hypothetical landmass in the Southern Hemisphere that separated toward the end of the Paleozoic Era, the remnants of which make up what are now South America, Africa, Arabia, the Indian subcontinent, Australia, and Antarctica.

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Etymology

Origin of Gondwana

First recorded in 1870–75; from Sanskrit goṇḍa, the name of a Dravidian people and region in north central India + vana “forest”

Example Sentences

"It adds to the wider understanding of the evolution of these earliest lobe-finned fishes, both in Gondwana and across the world."

From Science Daily • Mar. 12, 2026

According to the researchers, the characteristics of the fossils indicate that the amber originated in a warm, humid forest filled with dense vegetation and resin-producing trees in southern Gondwana.

From Science Daily • Oct. 11, 2025

This points to a landscape once lush with vegetation typical of Gondwana ecosystem now the source of potential gas reserves.

From Science Daily • May 7, 2024

Published in the journal Gondwana Research, the study charts Van de Lagemaat’s discovery through a notoriously difficult reconstruction process in the most geologically complicated place on the planet.

From Salon • Oct. 26, 2023

“I guess they wanted to go home, but Ma had something else in mind, and you all landed in Gondwana instead.”

From "Dragons in a Bag" by Zetta Elliott