The story
From paleo- + -gene. From Ancient Greek παλαιός (palaiós, “old”) + γενεά (geneá, “generation”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Paleogene
Today it means: Of a geologic period within the Cenozoic era; comprises the Paleocene, Eocene and Oligocene epochs from about 65 to 23 million years ago. Full definition →