Laurentia

Lau·ren·tia
L1A1U1R1E1N1T1I1A1
US/lɑˈɹɛn.ʃə/US/lɑˈɹɛn.ʃi.ə/pin pen merger/lɑˈɹɪn.ʃə/pin pen merger/lɑˈɹɪn.ʃi.ə/

proper noun

The craton that forms the geological core of North America, and that was a separate continent in the past (before merging into Laurasia).

OriginFrench laurentien →
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Meanings

proper noun
  1. geographyThe craton that forms the geological core of North America, and that was a separate continent in the past (before merging into Laurasia).

    Laurentia includes most of North America, Scotland and Ireland north of the Caledonian suture, Greenland, Spitzbergen, and the Chukotsk peninsula of eastern Siberia.

    2015, Kent C. Condie, Plate Tectonics & Crustal Evolution
  2. nonstandardCanada.

Origin

  1. Frenchlaurentien
  2. EnglishLaurentia

A New Latin formation named after the Saint Lawrence River: Laurentius (“Lawrence”) + -ia (New Latin suffix for creating place names). Or, back-formed from Laurentian (from French laurentien), already in use to describe the Laurentian Mountains and their associated geologic complex (and by extension Canada as a whole).

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Laurentia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Laurentia

MLA

“Laurentia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Laurentia. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Laurentia,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Laurentia.

Source: Laurentia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.