Hadean time
- noun
- /ˈheɪdiən taɪm/
- Specialized
:
tiempo hadeano
- No rocks have survived from Hadean time, making it a mysterious chapter in our planet's history.
Examples
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The Earth formed during Hadean time.
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The atmosphere during Hadean time was vastly different from what we experience today.
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Geologists study Hadean time to understand the Earth's earliest formation processes.
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What occurred during Hadean time?
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Geologists study Hadean time to understand the Earth's earliest formation processes.
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No rocks have survived from Hadean time, making it a mysterious chapter in our planet's history.
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The atmosphere during Hadean time was vastly different from what we experience today.
Synonyms
A very early time in Earth's history when the planet formed and no life existed
A very early time on Earth from its formation until about 3,800 million years ago with no signs of life
The first time after Earth formed, about 4.6 to 4 billion years ago, before rocks or life
The earliest time in Earth's history from about 4.6 to 4 billion years ago before rocks or life
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositionally formed from the proper geological term 'Hadean' (denoting the earliest eon) plus 'time' meaning an era or period, so its meaning — the time/period of the Hadean eon — is directly derivable. This eon-name + time/era pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a learner who knows both constituents will understand the MWE.
Etymology
Hadean time gets its name from the word Hadean, which comes from Hades, the Greek land of the dead, because early scientists thought the young Earth was a hot, fiery place like 'hell'. So, Hadean time now means the very first, extremely hot period in Earth's history.
