neolithic
Noun · AdjectiveUS[nee-oh-lith-ik]/ˈnioʊˌlɪθɪk/4 syllables
Open English WordNet
Noun (1)
- latest part of the Stone Age beginning about 10,000 BC in the Middle East (but later elsewhere)Synonyms: Neolithic AgeNew Stone AgeInstance of time period, period of timePart of Stone Age
Adjective (1)
- of or relating to the most recent period of the Stone Age (following the mesolithic)“evidence of neolithic settlements”
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onerousadjective
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Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Ne′o·lith′ic adjective
Origin: Neo- + -lith + -ic.
Archaeol. & Geol. Of or pertaining to, or designating, an era characterized by late remains in stone; the late stone age. Estimated as beginning around 9000 b. c. in the Middle East, this period is characterized by the beginnings of farming, the domestication of animals, and the manufacture of textiles and pottery.
The Neolithic era includes the latter half of the “Stone age;” the human relics which belong to it are associated with the remains of animals not yet extinct. The kitchen middens of Denmark, the lake dwellings of Switzerland, and the stockaded islands, or “crannogs,” of the British Isles, belong to this era.— Sir John Lubbock
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: +PJC