palaeo-

combining_form

1. old, ancient, or prehistoric

   palaeography

Word History and Origins

Origin of palaeo-¹

from Greek palaios old

Example Sentences

Various state programmes include incentives for farmers to percolate water on fallow fields, flood management that sets back levees, allowing floodplains to once again serve their purpose, and a search for palaeo valleys—special geological features that could rapidly move heavy water flows underground.

From Scientific American

“Palaeo Tourism has been huge globally so we’re expecting a lot of international interest when our borders re-open,” said Mackenzie, now a field paleontologist.

From Reuters

The point struck me while listening to paleontologist Matt Brown speak at this month's Pop Palaeo workshop in Raleigh, North Carolina.

From Scientific American

“This is a whole new palaeo ball game,” says William Jungers, a palaeoanthropologist at Stony Brook University, New York.

From Scientific American

“This is a whole new palaeo ball game,” says William Jungers, a palaeoanthropologist at Stony Brook University, New York.

From Nature

Words That Use palaeo-

What does palaeo- mean?

Palaeo- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “old” or “ancient.” It is often used in scientific terms, especially in reference to periods of geologic time, like palaeolithic, and ancient fossils.

Palaeo- comes from Greek palaiós, meaning “ancient.” The Latin translation of palaiós was antīquus, the source of words such as antique and antiquated.

What are variants of palaeo-?

When combined with words or word elements that begin with a vowel, palaeo- becomes palae-, as in palaeanthropic. In some instances, the -ae- is spelled with the digraph æ, becoming palæo- or palæ-, as in palæolith.

Palaeo- is the British English spelling of this combining form. In US English, it is spelled paleo- or pale- respectively, as in paleobotany.

Examples of palaeo-

A familiar term that features the form palae- is palaeontology, “the study of fossils to determine the structure and evolution of extinct animals and plants.”

The combining form palae- means “ancient,” while ontology comes from New Latin ontologia, meaning “study of being.” Palaeontology literally translates to the “study (or the science of) ancient beings.”

What are some words that use the combining form palaeo-?

• palaeobotany
• palaeocurrent
• palaeoecology
• palaeogeography
• palaeography
• palaeolith
• palaeozoology

What are some other forms that palaeo– may be commonly confused with?

• pleo-
• pleio-
• plio-

Break it down!

The combining form -graphy denotes the process or a form of writing. With this in mind, what is palaeography?