prehistoric

B2 Topic:Describing Qualities

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Very old or hopelessly out of date (informal).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

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

prehistoric culture
human culture from the period before written records

Adjective + noun

Etymology

From pre- (“before”) + historic, q.v., similar to slightly earlier ante-historic.

Topics

Describing Qualities Register & Style

External links

# 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 Very old or hopelessly out of date (informal).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 In present-day English it covers belonging to the time before history was written down and very old or hopelessly out of date (informal).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
- Describing Qualities
- Register & Style

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