Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of, relating to, or belonging to the era before recorded history.
- adjective Of or relating to a language before it is first recorded in writing.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Existing in or relating to time antecedent to the beginning of recorded history: as, prehistoric races; the prehistoric period of a country.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Of or pertaining to a period before written history begins
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective Of relating to the
epoch before writtenrecord . - adjective
Nonmodern .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective belonging to or existing in times before recorded history
- adjective no longer fashionable
- adjective of or relating to times before written history
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word prehistoric.
Examples
-
It is not impossible that they may have existed into the period which we call prehistoric, and that monsters far larger than any which we have yet discovered may have lingered until the time when man began to increase upon the earth, to spread over its surface, and to carve upon wood and stone representations of the most striking objects around him.
A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder James De Mille
-
LONDON – A wealthy young teenager buried near Britain's mysterious Stonehenge monument came from the Mediterranean hundreds of miles away, scientists said Wednesday, proof of the site's importance as a travel destination in prehistoric times.
Stonehenge Skeleton Proves Site's Prehistoric Importance The Huffington Post News Team 2010
-
But Auel says she has not stopped thinking about her heroine Ayla and her adventures in prehistoric times.
'Cave Bear' Author Jane Auel Not Done With Final Installment AP 2010
-
The Flintstones and the Rubbles -- virtually "The Honeymooners" in prehistoric cartoon clothing -- also laid down the comedic and artistic bedrock for such future hits as "The Simpsons" and "Family Guy."
At 50, THE FLINTSTONES stand up as the bedrock of prime-time animated comedy Michael Cavna 2010
-
But Auel says she has not stopped thinking about her heroine Ayla and her adventures in prehistoric times.
'Cave Bear' Author Jane Auel Not Done With Final Installment AP 2010
-
LONDON – A wealthy young teenager buried near Britain's mysterious Stonehenge monument came from the Mediterranean hundreds of miles away, scientists said Wednesday, proof of the site's importance as a travel destination in prehistoric times.
Stonehenge Skeleton Proves Site's Prehistoric Importance The Huffington Post News Team 2010
-
I believe that early hominids were telling that joke in prehistoric times.
-
Suppose that in prehistoric times, men were polygamous.
Culture or Institutions?, Arnold Kling | EconLog | Library of Economics and Liberty 2009
-
Have you considered actually setting a novel back in prehistoric times?
-
Differing access to foods in prehistoric times, he says, led to gendered patterns of eating today.
The truth about men, women and food Eva Wiseman 2010
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.