Archaeozoic
|ar-chae-o-zo-ic|
🇺🇸
/ˌɑrkiəˈzoʊɪk/
🇬🇧
/ˌɑːkiəˈzəʊɪk/
ancient life / earliest geologic time
Etymology
'Archaeozoic' originates from Greek, specifically the prefix 'arkhaîos' meaning 'ancient' and the element 'zōikos' (from 'zōon') meaning 'pertaining to animals' or 'life'.
'Archaeozoic' was formed in New Latin and 19th-century geological usage by combining 'archaeo-' + '-zoic' and was adopted into English as 'Archaeozoic'.
Initially it literally suggested 'ancient animal/life-related' but evolved to denote the earliest geologic eon/era and the rocks and records of that time.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a geologic eon/era (or rocks of that time) representing the earliest part of Earth's history, roughly 4,000–2,500 million years ago; historically used to refer to the oldest known rocks and early life evidence.
Many Archaeozoic rocks preserve some of the earliest evidence of microbial life.
Synonyms
Last updated: 2026/01/09 11:17