Ordovician

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. A geological age from approximately 485 to 444 million years ago distinguished by the rise of diverse marine species and the first land flora
2. This historical interval, spanning from 485 to 444 million years ago, is noted for the evolutionary expansion of marine organisms alongside the emergence of terrestrial plant life
3. A period in Earth's history around 485 to 444 million years ago marked by significant development of marine life and the earliest land plants

Etymology: Charles Lapworth, an English geologist, coined this name in 1879 for a layer of rock he had been studying in Wales. He took it from the Ordovices, a Celtic tribe who lived in north Wales during the Roman period, and the rocks were named after the people who had lived on that ground. The name was a deliberate choice to honour the region's history rather than a description of the rocks themselves. The word is built from the tribal name "Ordovices" with the suffix "-ian", which English uses to form adjectives meaning "relating to" a place or people. The tribal name itself comes from Latin "Ordovīcēs", the form the Romans used for the people, which in turn reflects a Celtic name. Lapworth's choice was part of a wider nineteenth-century habit of naming geological periods after regions where the rocks were first studied, a practice that gave the field a map of Britain written into its timescale.