paleolithic
旧石器時代
解説 Definition
paleolithic は「旧石器時代の」という意味です。人類史の非常に古い時期を表す学術的な語で、時代名として Paleolithic のように大文字で書かれることもあります。
Paleolithic describes the earliest major period of the Stone Age or anything belonging to it, including human communities, tools, and art. The term is often capitalized when used as the formal name of the period, the Paleolithic.
覚え方のコツ Memory Tip
paleo-「古い」＋ lith「石」＋ -ic「〜の」と分ければ、「古い石の時代の」と理解できます。典型的な組み合わせは paleolithic tools、cave paintings、people です。時代名では Paleolithic と大文字になることもあります。Mesolithic「中石器時代の」、Neolithic「新石器時代の」と並べ、paleo-・meso-・neo- の順で覚えます。
Break paleolithic into three meaningful parts: paleo- means “ancient” or “old,” lith means “stone,” and -ic means “relating to.” The whole word therefore points to the “old stone” stage of human prehistory. Attach it to common archaeological combinations such as paleolithic tools, paleolithic cave paintings, and paleolithic people. It also helps to learn the Stone Age sequence: Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic, corresponding broadly to Old, Middle, and New Stone Age terminology. When the word formally names the period, writers often capitalize it as the Paleolithic; as a descriptive adjective, lower case is also common.
例文
The museum has a paleolithic stone tool on display.
その博物館には旧石器時代の石器が展示されています。
They studied paleolithic cave paintings in class.
彼らは授業で旧石器時代の洞窟壁画を学びました。
The archaeologist explained how paleolithic people made simple tools.
考古学者は旧石器時代の人々がどのように簡単な道具を作ったかを説明しました。
paleolithic の類義語・関連語
類義語
対義語
paleolithic の語源・成り立ち Etymology
ギリシャ語palaios（古い）＋lithos（石）＋接尾辞-icの合成語。「古い石の時代」が原義。palaiosはpalaeontology（古生物学）、lithosはlithograph（石版画）やmonolith（一枚岩）にも現れる。旧石器時代という考古学用語として19世紀に造語された。
Paleolithic was coined in the nineteenth century from Greek-based elements: palaio-, from palaios, “old” or “ancient,” and -lithic, from lithos, “stone,” plus an adjectival ending. Its literal sense is “relating to old stone.” The same first element appears in paleontology, while the stone element occurs in lithograph and monolith. Archaeologists adopted the term to designate the earliest major division of the Stone Age, before the Mesolithic and Neolithic.
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