Silurian

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Silurian \Si*lu"ri*an\, a. [From L. Silures, a people who
     anciently inhabited a part of England and Wales.] (Geol.)
     Of or pertaining to the country of the ancient Silures; -- a
     term applied to the earliest of the Paleozoic eras, and also
     to the strata of the era, because most plainly developed in
     that country.


     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: The Silurian formation, so named by Murchison, is
           divided into the Upper Silurian and Lower Silurian. The
           lower part of the Lower Silurian, with some underlying
           beds, is now separated under the name Cambrian, first
           given by Sedwick. Recently the term Ordovician has been
           proposed for the Lower Silurian, leawing the original
           word to apply only to the Upper Silurian.
           [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Silurian \Si*lu"ri*an\, n.
     The Silurian age.
     [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Silurian
       n : from 425 million to 405 million years ago; first
           air-breathing animals [syn: {Silurian period}]