Carboniferous

[ kahr-buh-nif-er-uhs ]

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to a period of the Paleozoic Era, including the Pennsylvanian and Mississippian periods as epochs, occurring from 345 million to 280 million years ago.
2. (lowercase) producing carbon or coal.

noun

1. the Carboniferous Period or System.

Carboniferous

¹

/ ˌkɑːbəˈnɪfərəs /

adjective

1. of, denoting, or formed in the fifth period of the Palaeozoic era, between the Devonian and Permian periods, lasting for nearly 64 million years during which coal measures were formed

noun

1. the Carboniferous
   the Carboniferous period or rock system

carboniferous

²

/ ˌkɑːbəˈnɪfərəs /

adjective

1. yielding coal or carbon

Carboniferous

/ kär′bə-nĭf′ər-əs /

1. The period of geologic time from about 360 to 286 million years ago. The term is used throughout the world, although this period of time has been separated into the Mississippian (lower Carboniferous) and Pennsylvanian (upper Carboniferous) in the United States. During this time, widespread swamps formed in which plant remains accumulated and later hardened into coal.
2. See Chart at geologic time

Other Words From

• post-Car·bon·ifer·ous adjective
• pre-Car·bon·ifer·ous adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Carboniferous¹

1790–1800; < Latin carbōn- (stem of carbō ) coal + -i- + -ferous

Example Sentences

More than 300 million years ago, all sorts of arachnids crawled around the Carboniferous coal forests of North America and Europe.

From Science Daily

The fossil was identified as a temnospondyl, a predecessor to modern amphibians that survived over a 200 million year duration spanning from the Carboniferous to the Triassic periods.

From Salon

The researchers identified the fossil as a temnospondyl, a diverse group of primitive amphibian relatives that lived for over 200 million years from the Carboniferous to the Triassic periods.

From Science Daily

The ferns of the genus Danaea represent a very old evolutionary line, already differentiated from other plants in the Carboniferous Period.

From Science Daily

It means that plant life in the Early Carboniferous period was more complex than expected, suggesting Sanfordiacaulis lived at a time when plants were "experimenting" with a variety of possible forms or architectures.

From Science Daily