English Explanatory Dictionary

Miocene

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Of a geologic epoch within the Neogene period from about 23 to 5.3 million years ago; marked by the drift of continents to their present position.
name
  1. The Miocene epoch.

Pronunciation

/ˈmaɪəsiːn/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Miocene.wav

Word forms

Miocene Meiocene

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μείων (meíōn, “less”) + καινός (kainós, “new”). Coined by English polymath William Whewell in 1831 for Charles Lyell, who introduced it in 1833 in his book Principles of Geology. By surface analysis, meio- + -cene.

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