What does devonian mean?
Devonian is an adjective most often encountered in geology and paleontology, where it designates the Devonian period of the Paleozoic era, spanning roughly 419 to 359 million years ago. This was a pivotal chapter in Earth's history: jawed fishes diversified dramatically, giving the interval its popular nickname, the Age of Fishes, while plants spread across land and the earliest tetrapods took their first tentative steps out of water. Rocks of this age are well exposed in southwest England, which gives the period its name. Less commonly, Devonian simply describes Devon itself — its people, landscape, or dialect, as in a Devonian accent. Used as a noun, it denotes either the period or a native of the county. The word is always capitalized, formal in register, and belongs chiefly to scientific writing, though it also appears in natural-history journalism and museum interpretation.
Of or relating to Devon, England, or to the Devonian period of the Paleozoic era.
"Fossils of armored fish are characteristic of Devonian deposits."
Always capitalized.
A native or inhabitant of Devon, or the Devonian geological period.
"The Devonians have long farmed these red soils."
Used only in the noun sense referring to people of Devon.
"Devonians are proud of their county's role in defining a geological age."
The Devonian is nicknamed 'the Age of Fishes' — when life first walked out of the sea on legs, in what is now Devon's fossil-rich rocks.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of devonian
Devonian derives from Devon, the county in southwest England whose marine sedimentary rocks were used to define the geological system. The name follows the common nineteenth-century convention of naming geological periods after places where their strata were first studied, alongside terms such as Cambrian (from Wales) and Ordovician. It entered scientific English in the early nineteenth century as British geologists formalized the stratigraphic record.
How devonian is actually used
Capitalized. In everyday use almost always refers to the geological period rather than to the county; the county sense appears mainly in British contexts.
Easily confused with devonian
The Silurian is an older Paleozoic period (about 443–419 million years ago) that immediately precedes the Devonian.