Paleocene

adjective

Pa·​leo·​cene ˈpā-lē-ə-ˌsēn 

especially British

ˈpa- 

: of, relating to, or being the earliest epoch of the Tertiary or the corresponding series of rocks see Geologic Time Table

Paleocene noun

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French paléocène, from paléo- paleo- + -cène -cene

Note: Term introduced by the French (Alsatian) botanist Wilhelm Philippe Schimper (1808-80) in Traité de paléontologie végétale, tome 3 (Paris, 1874), p. 669 ff.

First Known Use

1877, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

Paleocene

adjective

Pa·​leo·​cene ˈpā-lē-ə-ˌsēn 

: of, relating to, or being the earliest epoch of the Tertiary period of geological history or the corresponding series of rocks see geologic time

Paleocene noun