Silurian
adjective
Si·lu·ri·an
sī-ˈlu̇r-ē-ən 
sə-
1
: of or relating to the Silures or their place of habitation
2
: of, relating to, or being a period of the Paleozoic era between the Ordovician and Devonian or the corresponding system of rocks marked by numerous eurypterid crustaceans and the appearance of the first land plants see Geologic Time Table
Silurian
noun
Examples of Silurian in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The oldest evidence of scorpions on Earth comes from the Silurian period, around 430 million years ago.
—
Scott Travers, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2024
The first of the Big Five mass extinctions transpired about 445 million years ago, marking the boundary between the Ordovician and Silurian periods back when fish and land plants were still relatively new.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 July 2024
New York The Eurypterus remipes is New York's state fossil, a sea scorpion from the Silurian age.
—Doc Louallen, USA TODAY, 6 Sep. 2023
The Silurian reef exhibit, a diorama behind glass in the current museum, will be reimagined as an immersive exhibit that people can walk through in the Time Travel gallery.
—Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 21 June 2023
Some scientists have suggested that the Ordovician-Silurian extinctions some 450 million years ago may have been the result of a nearby gamma-ray burst.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 17 Oct. 2022
The researchers also found that mass extinctions were rarely directly followed by radiations—the Ordovician-Silurian mass extinction happened 440 million years ago, for instance, but the data set suggests biodiversity did not rebound until more than 20 million years later.
—Riley Black, Scientific American, 14 Jan. 2021
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Scott Travers, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2024
The first of the Big Five mass extinctions transpired about 445 million years ago, marking the boundary between the Ordovician and Silurian periods back when fish and land plants were still relatively new.
—Riley Black, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 July 2024
New York The Eurypterus remipes is New York's state fossil, a sea scorpion from the Silurian age.
—Doc Louallen, USA TODAY, 6 Sep. 2023
The Silurian reef exhibit, a diorama behind glass in the current museum, will be reimagined as an immersive exhibit that people can walk through in the Time Travel gallery.
—Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 21 June 2023
Some scientists have suggested that the Ordovician-Silurian extinctions some 450 million years ago may have been the result of a nearby gamma-ray burst.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 17 Oct. 2022
The researchers also found that mass extinctions were rarely directly followed by radiations—the Ordovician-Silurian mass extinction happened 440 million years ago, for instance, but the data set suggests biodiversity did not rebound until more than 20 million years later.
—Riley Black, Scientific American, 14 Jan. 2021
Dictionary Entries Near Silurian
Cite this Entry
“Silurian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Silurian. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Silurian
adjective
Si·lu·ri·an
sī-ˈlu̇r-ē-ən
sə-
: of, relating to, or being a period of the Paleozoic era of geological history marked by the first appearance of land plants
also
: relating to the corresponding system of rocks see geologic time
Silurian
noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share