Etymology
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Pleistocene (adj.)

a name given by geologists to the lower division of the Quaternary, now reckoned as from about 2.6 million years ago and essentially "pertaining to the glacial period," 1839, coined by Lyell from Greek pleistos "most" (superlative of polys "much;" see pleio-) + -cene "recent."

Entries linking to Pleistocene

pleio- 

also pleo-, word-forming element meaning "more," from Greek pleiōn "larger, greater in quantity, the more part, very many" (comparative of polys "much"), from PIE *ple- (source also of Latin plere "to fill," plebes, "the populace, the common people;" Greek plēthein "be full," plērēs "full"), possibly a variant of root *pele- (1) "to fill."

-cene 

word-forming element in geology to indicate more recent periods, introduced by Sir Charles Lyell (1797-1875), from Latinized form of Greek kainos "new," cognate with Latin recens (see recent). Also see Cenozoic.

updated on July 15, 2020

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Dictionary entries near Pleistocene

pledge

Pleiades

plein-air

pleio-

pleiotropy

Pleistocene

pleistodox

*plek-

plenary

plenipotentiary

plenitude

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