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Glite Dictionary
Lower Carboniferous period

Lower Carboniferous period

9.9
An early part of the Carboniferous when primitive winged insects and early amphibians appear
  • noun
  • /ˈloʊər ˌkɑrbəˈnɪfərəs ˈpɪərɪəd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : período Carbonífero inferior
  • The Lower Carboniferous period saw the rise of primitive winged insects and early amphibians.

Examples

  • Geologists found fossils from the Lower Carboniferous period in the limestone cliffs.

  • During the Lower Carboniferous period, land areas expanded significantly.

  • Coal deposits dating back to the Lower Carboniferous period are important resources in several countries.

  • The Lower Carboniferous period saw the emergence of many new species.

  • Geologists found fossils from the Lower Carboniferous period in the limestone cliffs.

  • The Lower Carboniferous period saw the rise of primitive winged insects and early amphibians.

  • During the Lower Carboniferous period, land areas expanded significantly.

Synonyms

Lower Carboniferous
vsLower Carboniferous period
  • Specialized
9.9

An early part of the Carboniferous period about 345 to 310 million years ago

is the same concept but named with an explicit geological timespan word
Mississippian period
vsLower Carboniferous period
  • Specialized
9.9

A time about 345 to 310 million years ago with many shallow seas and early marine animals

is the descriptive nonregional form rather than that regional label

Surface Forms

Lower Carboniferous period singular
Lower Carboniferous periods plural

Morphology

lower + carboniferous + period

The phrase is directly compositional: 'lower' signals the earlier or stratigraphically beneath part, 'Carboniferous' names the geological era, and 'period' denotes a time interval, so a learner who knows those words can infer it means the earlier subdivision of the Carboniferous. While 'lower' as a technical stratigraphic label is somewhat domain-specific, the overall meaning is predictable from the constituents.

Etymology

Lower Carboniferous period gets its name from Carboniferous, which means 'coal-bearing' because huge swamp forests later turned into coal, and Lower shows it is the earlier part of that time. So the name refers to the earlier subdivision of the Carboniferous period about 345 to 310 million years ago, when early winged insects and amphibians appeared.