precontact
adjective
pre·con·tact
ˌprē-ˈkän-ˌtakt 
: of or relating to the period before contact of an indigenous people with an outside culture
Examples of precontact in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The Spanish who arrived in Central and South America about a century earlier, and other European colonists who followed to the North, brought diseases so devastating to the precontact population that researchers have estimated 90 percent of the existing inhabitants were killed.
—
Maryn McKenna, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2020
Williams presents a history of the region, including its precontact way of life, early exploration by Captain Cook and other westerners, and the devastation by the flu epidemic of 1918-19, which killed half the population.
—David James, Anchorage Daily News, 25 Dec. 2021
The authors also found a similar relationship between the precontact dogs and and modern Eurasian Arctic dogs like the Siberian husky.
—Deborah Netburn, latimes.com, 5 July 2018
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.
Maryn McKenna, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2020
Williams presents a history of the region, including its precontact way of life, early exploration by Captain Cook and other westerners, and the devastation by the flu epidemic of 1918-19, which killed half the population.
—David James, Anchorage Daily News, 25 Dec. 2021
The authors also found a similar relationship between the precontact dogs and and modern Eurasian Arctic dogs like the Siberian husky.
—Deborah Netburn, latimes.com, 5 July 2018
Dictionary Entries Near precontact
Cite this Entry
“Precontact.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/precontact. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share