Paleozoic
adj/ˈpeɪl.iəˌzəʊɪk/
Etymology From paleo- + -zoic.
1
Geography, Geology, Natural sciences Of a geologic era within the Phanerozoic eon that comprises the Cambrian, Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous and Permian periods from about 542 to 250 million years ago, from the age of trilobites to that of reptiles.
- ‘Itʼs all Paleozoic rock under our feet, this part of the world: to think of it, laid down five hundred million years before, shrugging its shoulders and bringing down the steeples on the churches!’2016, Sarah Perry, The Essex Serpent, Serpentʼs Tail (2017), page 41: