ARCHEAN

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Archean mean? 

• ARCHEAN (noun)
  The noun ARCHEAN has 1 sense:

1. the time from 3,800 million years to 2,500 million years ago; earth's crust formed; unicellular organisms are earliest forms of life

  Familiarity information: ARCHEAN used as a noun is very rare.

• ARCHEAN (adjective)
  The adjective ARCHEAN has 1 sense:

1. used of the earliest known rocks

  Familiarity information: ARCHEAN used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ARCHEAN (noun)

Meaning:

The time from 3,800 million years to 2,500 million years ago; earth's crust formed; unicellular organisms are earliest forms of life

Classified under:

Nouns denoting time and temporal relations

Synonyms:

Archaeozoic; Archaeozoic aeon; Archean; Archean aeon; Archean eon; Archeozoic; Archeozoic eon

Instance hypernyms:

aeon; eon (the longest division of geological time)

Holonyms ("Archean" is a part of...):

Precambrian; Precambrian aeon; Precambrian eon; Precambrian period (the eon following the Hadean time and preceding the Phanerozoic eon; from about 3,800 million years ago until 544 million years ago)

• ARCHEAN (adjective)

Meaning:

Used of the earliest known rocks

Synonyms:

archaean; archean

Similar:

early (at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time)

Domain category:

geology (a science that deals with the history of the earth as recorded in rocks)