paleoclimate
|pa-leo-cli-mate|
🇺🇸
/ˌpeɪlioʊˈklaɪmət/
🇬🇧
/ˌpeɪliəʊˈklaɪmɪt/
ancient/past climate
Etymology
'paleoclimate' is formed from the combining form 'paleo-' (from Greek 'palaios') meaning 'ancient' and the noun 'climate' (from Greek 'klima' via Latin 'clima' and Old French 'climat').
'paleo-' comes from Greek 'palaios' and became a scientific combining form in modern English; 'climate' came from Greek 'klima' through Latin and Old French to Middle English, and the modern compound 'paleoclimate' arose in scientific usage by joining 'paleo-' + 'climate'.
Originally the elements meant 'ancient' (paleo-) and 'region/inclination' (klima); over time the compound came to mean specifically the 'climate of the geological past'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the climate of the geological past, reconstructed from natural proxy records (e.g., ice cores, tree rings, sediments, isotopes) and used to understand long-term climate variations.
Researchers use sediment cores and ice cores to reconstruct the paleoclimate of the Pleistocene.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/10 19:13