Permian

American  

[pur-mee-uhn] / ˈpɜr mi ən /

adjective

1. Geology. noting or pertaining to a period of the Paleozoic Era occurring from about 280 to 230 million years ago and characterized by a profusion of amphibian species.

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noun

1. Geology. the Permian Period or System.

2. Permic.

Permian British  

/ ˈpɜːmɪən /

adjective

1. of, denoting, or formed in the last period of the Palaeozoic era, between the Carboniferous and Triassic periods, which lasted for 60 000 000 years

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noun

1. the Permian period or rock system

Permian Scientific  

/ pûr′mē-ən /

1. The seventh and last period of the Paleozoic Era, from about 286 to 245 million years ago. During the Permian Period the supercontinent Pangaea, comprising almost all of today's landmasses, formed. Gymnosperms evolved, the first modern conifers appeared, and reptiles diversified. The Permian Period ended with the largest known mass extinction in the history of life. It wiped out nearly 90 percent of known marine life forms.

2. See Chart at geologic time

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Other Word Forms

• post-Permian
  adjective
• pre-Permian
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Permian

First recorded in 1835–45; Perm + -ian

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Permian

“The acquisition expands our scale in the Permian Midland Basin, advances our integrated wellhead-to-water strategy and strengthens connectivity across our natural gas and NGL value chain,” said Chief Executive Pierce Norton II.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Firms including Texas Pacific Land, LandBridge and EagleRock sit on land empires nestled in the Permian Basin, which spans West Texas and New Mexico.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026

Permian producers have suffered from a lack of pipelines to ship and sell natural gas, and they are eager to provide the fuel to electrify tech companies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026

While a bullish storage surprise could lend near-term support, fading heat, an expected increase in supply from the Permian basin and the storage surplus “underscore weak fundamentals in the end of summer.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Or there, almost invisible against a leaf, is the lacewing, with green gauze wings and golden eyes, shy and secretive, descendant of an ancient race that lived in Permian times.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson