Ordovician etymology

Etymology

  • "Ordovician" is derived from the Latin name "Ordovicus," which was given to the geologic period by Sir Roderick Murchison in 1851.
  • "Ordovicus" is the Latinized form of "Ordovic," which was the name of an ancient Celtic tribe that lived in what is now Wales.

Meaning and Origin

The Ordovician Period is a geological time period that spanned approximately 47 million years, from 485 to 443 million years ago. It is the second period of the Paleozoic Era and follows the Cambrian Period.

The name "Ordovician" was proposed by British geologist Sir Roderick Murchison in 1851. Murchison based the name on the sequence of rock strata exposed in the Welsh county of Powys, which were inhabited by the ancient Celtic tribe known as the Ordovices.

The Ordovician Period is significant because it marked a major diversification in marine life, including the emergence of the first vertebrates (jawless fish) and the rise of dominant trilobites. Vast shallow seas covered much of the Earth's surface during this period, resulting in the deposition of extensive limestone and shale formations.

Ordovician relate terms

  • Silurian

    Etymology The name Silurian comes from the Latinized form of the Welsh tribe the Silur

  • Ordovician

    Etymology Ordovician is derived from the Latin name Ordovicus which was given to th

  • convict

    Etymology The word convict is derived from the Latin word convictus which means con

  • convince

    Etymology The word convince originates from the Latin verb convincere which means t

  • evict

    Etymology The word evict originates from the Latin word ēvicō which means to rem

  • evince

    Etymology Latin ēvincō meaning to prove to show clearly Formed from ē out

  • invictus

    Etymology Latin invictus meaning unconquered Meaning Unconquered Undefeated Inv

  • invincible

    Etymology The word invincible comes from the Latin word invictus which means unconq

  • Ordovician

    Etymology Ordovician is derived from the Latin name Ordovicus which was given to th

  • province

    Etymology The word province comes from the Old French word province which in turn d

  • vanquish

    Etymology Vanquish comes from the Old French word vanquir which in turn is derived f

  • victor

    Etymology The name Victor is derived from the Latin word victor which means victor

  • victory

    Etymology Middle English victorie from Anglo Norman victorie from Old French vittorie

  • Vincent

    Etymology The name Vincent derives from the Latin name Vincentius which is the prese

  • vincible

    Etymology Vincible is derived from the Latin word vincibilis which means capable o

  • period

    Etymology The word period comes from the Middle English word periode which itself

  • social

    Meaning and Origin of Social Etymology Social etymology refers to the process by which wo

  • avail

    Etymology The word avail comes from the Middle English word availen which itself co

  • sense

    Etymology Middle English sens from Old French sens from Latin sensus sensation perc

  • porcelain

    Etymology Old French porcelaine Italian porcellana Latin porcellus piglet Meanin

  • avarice

    Etymology French avarice Medieval Latin avaritia Latin avēre to have or desire

  • literature

    Etymology The word literature is derived from the Latin word littera which means le

  • speakeasy

    Etymology The term speakeasy originated in the United States during the Prohibition er

  • remote

    Etymology The word remote comes from the Latin remotus meaning far away Meaning

  • catharsis

    Etymology Greek κάθαρσις katharsis meaning purification cleansing Me