What does the prefix paleo- mean?
Paleo- comes from the Greek palaios, which means "ancient" or "old". It appears in scientific vocabulary related to the very distant past. Its relative opposite is neo-, which means "new".
ESEN
Prefix · ancient · primitive
paleo-
Means "ancient" or "primitive": paleontology, Paleolithic, Paleocene, paleoanthropology.
Scientific
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
Paleo- in the science of prehistory
Paleo- helps organize the past in the natural sciences: it names those that study fossils, ancient climates and ecosystems that have disappeared. It also gave its name to the "paleo diet", based on the idea of eating like the humans of the Paleolithic, a period that goes from more than two million years ago to about ten thousand.
How it is used
Combines with Greek roots to indicate great antiquity or belonging to remote past periods:
- paleo- + sciencentology → paleontologyanthropology → paleoanthropologyclimatology → paleoclimatologyecology → paleoecologybotany → paleobotany
- paleo- + era/periodlithic → Paleolithiccene → Paleocenezoic → Paleozoicgeography → paleogeography
Pronunciation: /ˈpeɪ.li.oʊ/. British spelling: palaeo-. Opposite: neo- (new).
How it is pronounced
paleo-/ˈpeɪ.li.oʊ/
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Examples
Root word
With paleo-
In a phrase
- ntologypaleontologyPaleontology gave us our entire knowledge of dinosaurs, from bone fragments alone.
- lithicPaleolithicPaleolithic cave paintings at Lascaux are among the oldest known works of art.
- cenePaleoceneThe Paleocene epoch began immediately after the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs.
- anthropologypaleoanthropologyPaleoanthropology traces human evolution from Australopithecus through Homo sapiens.
- climatologypaleoclimatologyPaleoclimatology uses ice cores to reconstruct Earth's climate over the past 800,000 years.
- zoicPaleozoicThe Paleozoic era saw the emergence of complex multicellular life, fish, and the first land plants.
- botanypaleobotanyPaleobotany studies fossilised leaves and pollen to understand ancient plant ecosystems.
Common mistakes
confusing "Paleolithic" with "Neolithic"
"Paleolithic" = Old Stone Age (2.5 million to 10,000 years ago, chipped stone tools, hunter-gatherers); "Neolithic" = New Stone Age (10,000 to 2,000 BCE, polished tools, agriculture, permanent settlements)
"Paleolithic" (paleo- = ancient + lithos = stone): the Old Stone Age, from the first stone tools to the end of the last Ice Age, characterised by chipped flint tools and nomadic hunter-gatherer societies. "Neolithic" (neo- = new + lithos): the New Stone Age, marked by the agricultural revolution, polished tools, pottery, and the first permanent villages. Paleo = hunter-gatherers; Neo = farmers and villages.
A trick to remember it
Picture a fossil from the Stone Age: paleo- = ancient. paleontology, paleolithic.
Practise what you learned
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
What is the difference between the Paleolithic and the Neolithic?
Frequently asked questions
What does the prefix paleo- mean in English?
The prefix paleo- means "ancient" or "primitive": paleontology, Paleolithic, Paleocene, paleoanthropology.
How do you pronounce paleo-?
The prefix paleo- is pronounced /ˈpeɪ.li.oʊ/. For example, "paleontology".
Can you give an example of a word with paleo-?
"ntology" becomes "paleontology". It is a typical example of the paleo- prefix.
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