Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

Palaeozoic

British  
/ ˌpælɪəʊˈzəʊɪk /

adjective

  1. of, denoting, or relating to an era of geological time that began 600 million years ago with the Cambrian period and lasted about 375 million years until the end of the Permian period

"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

noun

  1. the Palaeozoic era

"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

Etymology

Origin of Palaeozoic

C19: from palaeo- + Greek zōē life + -ic

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.

"The composition suggests the cow originated from an area with Palaeozoic rocks, such as the bluestones found in Wales, before moving to Stonehenge," the scientists concluded.

From BBC • Aug. 22, 2025

"You can tell that the animal has been grazing on the Palaeozoic rock, typical of those found in Wales, particularly in and around where bluestones are found," she said.

From BBC • Aug. 22, 2025

The result is a history of life during this period, the early Palaeozoic era, that can pinpoint the rise and fall of species during diversifications and mass extinctions to within about 26,000 years.

From Nature • Jan. 15, 2020

"The number of species found in Switzerland and the from the Barents Sea suggest a rather high diversity and that the group might originate from the Early Triassic or the Late Palaeozoic era," he said.

From BBC • Oct. 1, 2013

No marine deposits younger than those just mentioned—all belonging to a pre-Cambrian epoch—are found in the central portion of Finland; and the greater part of the country has probably been dry land since Palaeozoic times.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 4 "Finland" to "Fleury, Andre" by Various