protocontinent
[ proh-toh-kon-tn-uhnt ]
nounGeology.
an actual or hypothetical landmass that might later be enlarged into a major continent or broken up into smaller ones.
Origin of protocontinent
1Words Nearby protocontinent
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Scientific definitions for protocontinent
protocontinent
[ prō′tō-kŏn′tə-nənt ]
A landmass that existed at some point in the past. Protocontinents that are thought to have comprised some or all of the present-day continents in a single landmass are also known as supercontinents.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse