azoic

¹ American  

[uh-zoh-ik, ey-] / əˈzoʊ ɪk, eɪ- /

adjective

Geology.

1. (formerly) noting or pertaining to the Precambrian Era, especially that part formerly believed to precede the first appearance of life; Archean.

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azoic ² American  

[a-zoh-ik] / æˈzoʊ ɪk /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the azo group.

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azoic British  

/ eɪ-, əˈzəʊɪk /

adjective

1. without life; characteristic of the ages that have left no evidence of life in the form of organic remains

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Etymology

Origin of azoic¹

1840–50; < Greek ázō ( os ) lifeless ( see azo-) + -ic

Origin of azoic²

azo- + -ic

Example Sentences

Scientists long ago clung to the "azoic hypothesis" about the deep -- the presumption that nothing could possibly be alive so far from the photosynthetic world.

From Washington Post • May 16, 2010

What though it be only an azoic extract of intense potato, dimly tinct with sargasso and macaroni—it has a pleasing warmth and bulk.

From Shandygaff by Morley, Christopher

Prior to and in the azoic age we have nothing in the universe but matter and force, and according to Mr. Spencer, not only an unknown force, but also an unseen and an unknowable force.

From The Christian Foundation, Or, Scientific and Religious Journal, Volume I, No. 11, November, 1880 by Walker, Aaron

How then, from the absence of fossils in the Longmynd beds and their equivalents, can we conclude that the Earth was "azoic" when they were formed?

From Essays: Scientific, Political, & Speculative, Vol. I by Spencer, Herbert

Murchison, Sir R., on the formations of Russia, 290. ——, on azoic formations, 308. ——, on extinction, 317.

From On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life. (2nd edition) by Darwin, Charles