Jurassic

[ joo-ras-ik ]

adjective

1. noting or pertaining to a period of the Mesozoic Epoch, occurring from 190 to 140 million years ago and characterized by an abundance of dinosaurs and the advent of birds and mammals.

noun

1. the Jurassic Period or System.

Jurassic

/ dʒʊˈræsɪk /

adjective

1. of, denoting, or formed in the second period of the Mesozoic era, between the Triassic and Cretaceous periods, lasting for 55 million years during which dinosaurs and ammonites flourished

noun

1. the Jurassic
   the Jurassic period or rock system

Jurassic

/ j-răs′ĭk /

1. The second and middle period of the Mesozoic Era, from about 208 to 144 million years ago. During this time the supercontinent Pangaea continued to split up and numerous shallow seas inundated the new continents. Dinosaurs were the dominant form of terrestrial animal life, and the earliest birds appeared. Marine life was dominated by ammonites and belemnites, and sponges, corals, bryozoa, and gastropods all flourished. Gymnosperms and cycads were the dominant land plants.
2. See Chart at geologic time

Other Words From

• post-Ju·rassic adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Jurassic¹

First recorded in 1825–35; Jur(a) + -assic, suffix extracted from Triassic; compare French jurassique

Word History and Origins

Origin of Jurassic¹

C19: from French jurassique, after the Jura (Mountains)

Example Sentences

Despite the scary name, modern vampire squid are docile denizens of the deep sea — but their Jurassic ancestors may have been a lot fiercer.

From Science News

Still, “I think they did very well,” says Horner of the films’ depiction of Jurassic life.

From Science News For Students

The embryos confirmed that the fossils were all Mussaurus patagonicus—a plant-eating dinosaur of the early Jurassic period that is considered a sauropodomorph, a predecessor of the massive, long-necked sauropods.

From MIT Technology Review

“I think it would be really neat to make a version of the map that shows the arrangements of the continents in periods such as the Triassic and the Jurassic,” says Nizar Ibrahim.

From Science News For Students

Fossils show that this most famous of dinosaurs evolved tens of millions of years after the Jurassic ended.

From Science News For Students

Does all this mean that a robo-Jurassic Park is coming soon to a neighborhood near you?

From The Daily Beast

Pratt, of course, just exploded with Guardians of the Galaxy and the upcoming lead in Jurassic World.

From The Daily Beast

Yes, there are the usual references to color-changing T-shirts and Jurassic Park, but it feels more warranted than throwaway here.

From The Daily Beast

Ramin Setoodeh went and found a roomful of adults in Jurassic Park costumes.

From The Daily Beast

Natalie Suarez, 25, fashioned her green hoodie to look like a Dilophosaurus, the poison-spitting dinosaur from Jurassic Park.

From The Daily Beast

The foot plateau which succeeds is composed of sedimentary rocks dating from Trias to Jurassic.

From Project Gutenberg

This shallow-water phase existed throughout Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous times.

From Project Gutenberg

The first is the Jurassic Belt, sweeping along the border of the The eastern division.

From Project Gutenberg

At the end of the Jurassic period and later this great plain was part of a sea bed.

From Project Gutenberg

This formation is of Upper Jurassic age, corresponding to the well-known beds of marine origin preserved in Cutch.

From Project Gutenberg