ur-continent

noun

An original or primordial continent or landmass.

Similar
paleocontinent
OriginGerman Urkontinent →
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Meanings

nounur-continent (plural ur-continents)

plural ur-continents · alternative Ur continent

  1. An original or primordial continent or landmass.

    The second group of convection currents operated in the upper half of the mantle only, split the ur-continent and carried North and South America away from Eurasia, explaining the similarity in the two coastlines—[…]

    2012, M. Sears, D. Merriman, Oceanography: The Past

    Synonyms: paleocontinent

  2. Pangaea

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn original or primordial continent or landmass.

Similar
paleocontinent

Origin

  1. GermanUrkontinent
  2. Englishur-continent

Borrowed from German Urkontinent, coined by Alfred Wegener, equivalent to ur- + continent.

More words from German

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

ur-continent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ur-continent

MLA

“ur-continent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ur-continent. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ur-continent,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ur-continent.

Source: ur-continent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.