prehistoric B2 Topic:Time Also spelled pre-historic US /ˌpriːhɪˈstɔrɪk/ See IPA manual Freq #13209 Meanings 1 adj Belonging to the time before history was written down. The cave contains prehistoric paintings of animals. 2 adj Very old or hopelessly out of date (informal). My mother has these prehistoric ideas about proper clothes. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · belonging to the time... prehistorical 2 adj · very old or hopelessly out... antediluvian Word family Derived forms nonprehistoricprehistorically Related forms precontactprehistory Common collocations prehistoric culture Adjective + noun Etymology AI details From pre- (“before”) + historic, q.v., similar to slightly earlier ante-historic. Topics Time Register & Style External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # prehistoric **Type:** Word **Level:** B2 **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /ˌpriːhɪˈstɔrɪk/ **Frequency rank:** 13209 ## Meanings 1. Belonging to the time before history was written down. 2. Very old or hopelessly out of date (informal). ## Examples - The cave contains prehistoric paintings of animals. - My mother has these prehistoric ideas about proper clothes. ## Derived Forms - nonprehistoric - prehistorically ## Related Forms - precontact - prehistory ## Roots and Affixes - Affix: pre- - before ## Etymology From pre- (“before”) + historic, q.v., similar to slightly earlier ante-historic. ## AI Etymology Prehistoric comes from pre- (“before”) + historic, q.v., similar to slightly earlier ante-historic. In present-day English it covers belonging to the time before history was written down and very old or hopelessly out of date (informal). The wider family includes derived forms such as nonprehistoric, prehistorically and related forms such as precontact, prehistory. ## Topics - Time - Register & Style markdown