astrochronological
|as-tro-chro-no-lo-gi-cal|
🇺🇸
/ˌæstroʊ.krəˈnɑː.lə.dʒɪkəl/
🇬🇧
/ˌæstrə.krɒnəˈlɒdʒɪkəl/
relating to astronomical dating
Etymology
'astrochronological' originates from Greek elements and modern English formation: the prefix 'astro-' from Greek 'astron' meaning 'star', the root 'chrono-' from Greek 'chronos' meaning 'time', combined with the adjectival suffix '-ical' (via Latin/French).
'astrochronology' is a modern English compound formed by combining 'astro-' + 'chronology' in the 20th century within geosciences; the adjective 'astrochronological' arose by adding the English adjectival suffix '-ical' to that compound.
Initially the component elements literally conveyed 'star' + 'time'; over time the compound came to mean specifically 'dating or correlating records by astronomical (orbital/climatic) cycles', which is the current technical sense.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
relating to or based on astrochronology — the dating and correlation of sedimentary or geological records using astronomical (orbital/climatic) cycles.
The team used astrochronological methods to correlate sediment cores from different parts of the basin.
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Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/11/07 20:14