This week’s theme
New words (relatively speaking)

This week’s words
prebuttal
captcha
crowdsource
google
anthropocene

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A.Word.A.Day

PRONUNCIATION:

(AN-thruh-puh-seen)

MEANING:

noun: The geological period marked by a significant human impact on climate and the environment.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek anthropo- (human) + -cene (denoting a geological period), from Greek kainos (new). Ultimately from the Indo-European root ken (fresh, new, or young) which also gave us recent and Sanskrit kanya (young girl). Earliest documented use: 2000.

NOTES:

The Anthropocene is regarded as the time from the start of the Industrial Revolution onward. Eugene F. Stoermer, an American biologist, coined it and Paul Crutzen, a Dutch atmospheric chemist (and a Nobel laureate), popularized it. For more on the Anthropocene, see National Geographic.

USAGE:

“Nature as we know it is in constant flux, and even more so in the era of the Anthropocene. Humanity’s impact on nature and biodiversity is far reaching and pervasive.”
Art With a Message; Castlegar News (Canada); Oct 16, 2014.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY: