Neolithic

See also: neolithic

English

WOTD – 5 June 2008

Etymology

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Neolithic

Wikipedia

From neo- +‎ -lithic. Coined by English banker, Liberal politician, philanthropist, scientist and polymath John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌni.əˈlɪθ.ɪk/, /ˌni.əʊˈlɪθ.ɪk/
• (US) enPR: nēōlĭthīk, IPA^(key): /ˌni.oʊˈlɪθ.ɪk/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (General Australian):

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• Rhymes: -ɪθɪk
• Hyphenation: Neo‧lith‧ic

Proper noun

Neolithic

1. The period of prehistory from circa 8500 to 4500 BCE.

   Synonym: New Stone Age

   Holonyms: Stone Age < prehistory

   Meronyms: Pre-Pottery Neolithic, Pre-Pottery Neolithic A, Pre-Pottery Neolithic B

   Comeronyms: Old Stone Age, Paleolithic

Translations

the New Stone Age

Asturian: neolíticu m Bulgarian: новокаменна епоха f (novokamenna epoha) Catalan: neolític m Chinese: Mandarin: 新石器時代 / 新石器时代 (zh) (Xīnshíqì Shídài) Crimean Tatar: neolit Czech: neolit (cs) m Dutch: neolithicum (nl) n Estonian: neoliitikum Finnish: neoliittinen kausi, nuorempi kivikausi French: néolithique (fr) m, Néolithique (fr) m, Néolithique (fr) f Galician: neolítico (gl) m German: Jungsteinzeit (de) f, Neolithikum (de) n Greek: Νεολιθική f (Neolithikí) Hindi: नवपाषाण युग m (navpāṣāṇ yug) Interlingua: Neolitic m Irish: an Nua-Chlochaois f, An Tréimhse Neoiliteach f Italian: neolitico (it) m Korean: 신석기 시대(新石器時代) (ko) (Sinseokgi sidae) Maltese: neolitiku Polish: neolit (pl) m Portuguese: neolítico (pt) m Russian: неоли́т (ru) m (neolít) Scottish Gaelic: Linn Ùr na Cloiche f Sicilian: neoliticu m Slovene: mlajša kamena doba (sl) f Spanish: neolítico (es) m Swedish: neolitisk tid c, bondestenålder (sv) c, yngre stenålder c, neolitikum (sv) Thai: ยุคหินใหม่ (yóok hĭn mài) Turkish: Neolitik Çağ Vietnamese: thời đại đồ đá mới

Adjective

Neolithic (not comparable)

1. Of or relating to the New Stone Age.

   Alternative form: neolithic

   • 2001, Duncan J. Melville, “Tokens: the origin of mathematics”, in Mesopotamian Mathematics‎, archived from the original on 6 February 2007:

     Tokens are first identified at around the same time as the local peoples changed from a life based on hunting and gathering to one based on agriculture. The tokens, as Schmandt-Besserat says, "were part and parcel of the Neolithic phenomenon; that is, the so-called agricultural revolution." (Before Writing 41).

   • 2013 September 14, Jane Shilling, “The Golden Thread: the Story of Writing, by Ewan Clayton, review [print edition: Illuminating language]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review)‎, page R28:

     ... I was fascinated by a pair of stories about a Neolithic girl who wrote the first letter, and invented the first alphabet.

Derived terms

• Neolithically
• Neolithic Revolution
• preneolithic

Translations

of or relating to the New Stone Age

Belarusian: неаліты́чны (njealitýčny) Catalan: neolític Chinese: Mandarin: 新石器時代的 / 新石器时代的 (Xīnshíqì Shídài de) Czech: neolitický (cs) m Danish: yngre stenalder Finnish: neoliittinen (fi) French: néolithique (fr) Galician: neolítico (gl) m German: jungsteinzeitlich (de), neolithisch (de) Greek: νεολιθικός (el) f (neolithikós) Hindi: नवपाषाण (navpāṣāṇ) Irish: Neoiliteach Italian: neolitico (it) Japanese: 新石器時代 (ja) (しんせっきじだい, Shinsekki Jidai) Korean: 신석기 시대(新石器時代) (ko) (Sinseokgi sidae), 신석기(新石器) (Sinseokgi) Latin: neolithicus Latvian: neolīts Maltese: neolitiku m, neolitiċi pl Norwegian: Bokmål: neolittisk Nynorsk: neolittisk Polish: neolityczny (pl) m Portuguese: neolítico (pt) m Russian: неолити́ческий (ru) (neolitíčeskij) Spanish: neolítico (es) Turkish: neolitik (tr) Ukrainian: неоліти́чний (neolitýčnyj), новокам'яни́й (novokamʺjanýj)

Noun

Neolithic (plural Neolithics)

1. A person who lived during the New Stone Age.
   • 2011, Seán Lang, European History For Dummies, page 27:

     For the Neolithics, the stone was flint, and it's still impressive to see what they were able to achieve with it.

Related terms

• lith
• Mesolithic
• Paleolithic

Anagrams

• Nicholite, ichnolite