prehistory

[ pree-his-tuh-ree, -his-tree ]

/ priˈhɪs tə ri, -ˈhɪs tri /

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See synonyms for prehistory on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural pre·his·to·ries.

human history in the period before recorded events, known mainly through archaeological discoveries, study, research, etc.; history of prehistoric humans.

a history of the events or incidents leading to a crisis, situation, or the like.

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Origin of prehistory

First recorded in 1870–75; pre- + history

OTHER WORDS FROM prehistory

pre·his·to·ri·an

[pree-hi-stawr-ee-uhn, -stohr-], /ˌpri hɪˈstɔr i ən, -ˈstoʊr-/, noun

Words nearby prehistory

preheat, prehensible, prehensile, prehension, prehistoric, prehistory, prehnite, prehominid, prehuman, preignition, pre-Incan

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

How to use prehistory in a sentence

To predict where this goes, we’ll look at our prehistory, studying trends over the past six million years of evolution.
Future Evolution: How Will Humans Change in the Next 10,000 Years?|Nicholas R. Longrich|March 3, 2022|Singularity Hub
As the galleries explain, humans’ relationship with numbers goes back deep into prehistory.
Take an online journey through the history of math|Erin Wayman|January 18, 2022|Science News
Human history and prehistory were doubtless full of conflict, but then as now, tribes may have had peaceful interactions—treaties, marriages, friendships—and may simply have gifted technology to their neighbors.
How a Handful of Prehistoric Geniuses Launched Humanity’s Technological Revolution|Nicholas R. Longrich|January 7, 2022|Singularity Hub
The compendium of objects that explore the prehistory of cinema left me marveling at the fact that anyone ever thought moving pictures were a possibility.
In Los Angeles, a new museum celebrates the art of moviemaking|Courtney Lichterman|October 28, 2021|Washington Post

It was not until the turn of the 20th century that dinosaurs came to be seen as massive, hulking, and lumbering behemoths of prehistory.
How Tycoons Created the Dinosaur - Issue 107: The Edge|Lukas Rieppel|October 20, 2021|Nautilus
Behind them came people bearing the Nostvet culture.148 Our knowledge of Russian prehistory is still very scanty.
The New Stone Age in Northern Europe|John M. Tyler
And it extends still further back into prehistory, that is to say, into, unwritten history.
Essays on the Materialistic Conception of History|Antonio Labriola
With this social organization ends the prehistory of the human race.
Essays on the Materialistic Conception of History|Antonio Labriola
As a matter of fact they belong to the prehistory period of Britain, and to test their value scientific methods are required.
Folklore as an Historical Science|George Laurence Gomme
The attempt to place this long chapter of prehistory on a historical basis has many dangers, of which I am fully aware.
Men of the Old Stone Age|Henry Fairfield Osborn

British Dictionary definitions for prehistory

prehistory

/ (priːˈhɪstərɪ) /

noun plural -ries

the prehistoric period

the study of this period, relying entirely on archaeological evidence

Derived forms of prehistory

prehistorian (ˌpriːhɪˈstɔːrɪən), noun

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

prehistory

Origin of prehistory

OTHER WORDS FROM prehistory

Words nearby prehistory

Words related to prehistory

How to use prehistory in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for prehistory

Derived forms of prehistory