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An·thro·po·cene

(ănthrə-pə-sēn′)

The period of time during which human activities are thought to have had a significant impact on the global environment, regarded as having begun sometime between eight thousand years ago, with the spread of agriculture, and two hundred years ago, with the advent of industrialization. The Anthropocene has been proposed as a new epoch of geologic time, following the Holocene.

adj.

Of or relating to the Anthropocene.

[ANTHROPO– + –CENE.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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