Word of the Day

: August 4, 2014

Noachian

adjective noh-AY-kee-un

What It Means

: of or relating to the patriarch Noah or his time

Noachian in Context

"He eventually concluded that all the many floods he now recognized had antedated the Noachian deluge." - Stephen Jay Gould, The Flamingo's Smile, 1985

"The Noachian covenant indicates to her that God had evolved from an omnipotent, omniscient deity 'to a sadder, wiser deity' who realizes that his punishment was 'a bit excessive'…." - Brigid Curtin Frein, Theological Studies, September 2009

Did You Know?

Students of the Bible know that Noah survived the Great Flood by stowing himself, his family, and two of every kind of creature on his Ark. "Noachian" is derived from the Hebrew name for Noah. Modern contexts find "Noachian" used in reference to the Great Flood or, more humorously, to describe torrential rainstorms and flooding reminiscent of the Biblical event. It could be said that usage of "Noachian" spans even beyond planet Earth. Astronomers studying the surface of the planet Mars use "Noachian" to refer to the epoch between 4.6 and 3.5 billion years ago when that planet's oldest craters were believed to be formed. This usage is based on "Noachis Terra" one of the landmasses of Mars. The name, which translates as "Land of Noah," was chosen in the 19th century by Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli.