Palaeogeographer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A scientist who reconstructs the physical layout of past landscapes, coastlines and continents from geological and fossil evidence
2. A researcher specializing in the geography of ancient or prehistoric Earth, mapping how land and seas were arranged in earlier ages
3. Someone who studies the former configurations of the Earth's surface, including ancient continents, oceans and climates, to understand deep time

Etymology: Palaeogeographer is a plain compound, built from "palaeo-", the combining form meaning "ancient" or "old" (from Greek "palaios"), attached to "geographer," someone who studies the surface of the earth and its features. Together they name a specialist in ancient geography, which in practice usually means a scientist who reconstructs how continents, seas and climates were arranged in past geological ages. The first half does most of the work. "Palaeo-" is used in English as a prefix for many scientific fields, such as palaeontology and palaeoclimatology, so the formation follows a widely used pattern. Because the source offers no further detail on the word's history, nothing more can be said about its first appearance in print.

Synonyms: paleogeographer