paleobotany

noun

pa·​leo·​bot·​a·​ny ˌpā-lē-ō-ˈbä-tə-nē How to pronounce paleobotany (audio)
-ˈbät-nē
: a branch of botany dealing with fossil plants
paleobotanical adjective
or less commonly paleobotanic
paleobotanically adverb
paleobotanist noun

Examples of paleobotany in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Among these disciplines are invertebrate and vertebrate paleontology, as well as paleobotany, paleoecology and paleoclimatology. Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 30 Mar. 2023 But to squeeze a diverse set of practices that span cultural anthropology, paleobotany, and theoretical physics into a handful of steps is an inevitable distortion and, to be blunt, displays a serious poverty of imagination. Daniel P. Thurs, Discover Magazine, 28 Oct. 2015 Around that time, Friis met Pedersen, a young paleobotany professor in Aarhus, who was curious about the origins of flowering plants. Ben Crair, The New Yorker, 2 Jan. 2023 Herrera, now assistant curator of paleobotany at the Field Museum, followed Jaramillo’s advice and traveled to Cerrejón to look for a ghost: fossil leaves from the early Cenozoic. Pablo Correa, Discover Magazine, 8 Dec. 2022 For all his deceit and disgrace, Mellaart made discoveries that led to an explosion of archaeological interest in the region, and gave a lift to the emerging science of paleobotany. Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Aug. 2021 Get behind-the-scenes looks with Dr. Ron Tykoski, learn about paleobotany with Dr. Dori Contreras, hear paleontologists sound off on dinosaur movies, and participate in trivia, a Q&A session and more. Shannon Sutlief, Dallas News, 23 Apr. 2020 This area has an intrinsically variable climate that alternates between flooding and drought, explains Scott Wing, research geologist and curator of paleobotany at the National Museum of Natural History. Anna Diamond, Smithsonian, 23 Aug. 2019 Investigators of the Great Maya Aquifer Project see the (re)discovery of Balamku as a chance to implement a totally new model of cave archaeology, one that employs cutting-edge technology and specialized fields such as 3-D mapping and paleobotany. Gena Steffens, National Geographic, 4 Mar. 2019

Word History

Etymology

paleo- + botany

First Known Use

1872, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of paleobotany was in 1872

Dictionary Entries Near paleobotany

Cite this Entry

“Paleobotany.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paleobotany. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on paleobotany

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!