Etymology

archaean

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Today it means: Of or relating to Arche, the Muse of beginnings in Greek mythology. Full definition →

Ancient Greek ἀρχαῖος ← Latin archaeus
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archaean · noun1

Archaea + -n

Archaean · adjective, proper noun2

  1. Latin · borrowed fromarchaeus
  2. Ancient Greek · borrowed fromἀρχαῖος“ancient”
  3. English todayArchaean

From Ancient Greek ἀρχαῖος (arkhaîos, “ancient”) (likely via Latin archaeus) + -an.

Words from the same roots

Ancient Greekἀρχαῖος all →

archae-archaeologismarchaeomancyarchaeophyteArchaeopolisarcheopteryxarcheus

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.