Ordovician

O1R1D2O1V4I1C3I1A1N1

adjective

Of a geologic period within the Paleozoic era; comprises lower, middle and upper epochs from about 488 to 443 million years ago.

OriginEnglish Ordovices ← Latin Ordovīcē ← Proto-Celtic *wiketi →
UncommonScrabble 16
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

adjectiveOrdovician (comparative more Ordovician, superlative most Ordovician)

comparative more Ordovician · superlative most Ordovician

  1. geographyOf a geologic period within the Paleozoic era; comprises lower, middle and upper epochs from about 488 to 443 million years ago.

    Against the dark Ordovician gabbro, the black volcanic base, Rhynie is a streak of technicolour.

    2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherlands, Penguin, published 2023, page 205
proper noun
  1. geographyThe Ordovician period.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₃erg-der.?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-der.?
  3. Proto-Celtic*ordos
  4. Proto-Indo-European*weyk-
  5. Proto-Celtic*wiketi
  6. LatinOrdovīcē
  7. EnglishOrdovices
  8. EnglishOrdovician

From Ordovices + -ian. Coined by English geologist Charles Lapworth in 1879 after the Celtic tribe of the Ordovices.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 奧陶紀 /奥陶纪
  • 奧陶紀 /奥陶纪 (Àotáo Jì)Ordovician period
Czech ordovik
  • ordovikOrdovician period
Dutch ordovicium
  • ordoviciumOrdovician period
Estonian ordoviitsium
  • ordoviitsiumOrdovician period
Finnish ordoviikkikausi
  • ordoviikkikausiOrdovician period
German Ordovizium
  • OrdoviziumOrdovician period
Greek Ορδοβίκια
  • Ορδοβίκια (Ordovíkia)Ordovician period
Hungarian ordovícium
  • ordovíciumOrdovician period
Japanese オルドビス紀
  • オルドビス紀 (Ordobisu-ki)Ordovician period
Norwegian ordovicium
  • ordoviciumOrdovician period
Portuguese Ordoviciano, Ordovícico
  • OrdovicianoOrdovician period
  • OrdovícicoOrdovician period
Russian ордови́кский пери́од, ордови́к
  • ордови́кский пери́од (ordovíkskij períod)Ordovician period
  • ордови́к (ordovík)Ordovician period
Spanish Ordovícico
  • OrdovícicoOrdovician period
Swedish ordovicium
  • ordoviciumOrdovician period
Vietnamese kỉ Oóc-đô-vít
  • kỉ Oóc-đô-vítOrdovician period
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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