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Origin and history of mesolithic

mesolithic(adj.)

1866 in archaeology, "belonging to the middle Stone Age (in Europe, roughly 15,000 to 5,000 years before the present, between the paleolithic and the neolithic); see meso- "middle" + lithic "consisting of stone." The word was used c. 1859 in a different sense in geology.

also from 1866

Entries linking to mesolithic

lithic(adj.)

1797, "pertaining to or consisting of stone," from Greek lithikos "of or pertaining to stone," from lithos "stone" (see litho-). From 1875 as "pertaining to lithium.

meso-

before vowels mes-, word-forming element meaning "middle, intermediate, halfway," from Greek mesos "middle, in the middle; middling, moderate; between" (from PIE root *medhyo- "middle").

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    paleolithic
    "of or pertaining to the earlier Stone Age," 1865, coined by John Lubbock, later Baron Avebury (1834-1913), from paleo- + Greek lithos "stone" + -ic. Opposed to the neolithic, and supposedly characterized by less progress in methods of making tools and weapons from rough stone. P
    repent
    c. 1300, repenten, "be grieved over one's past and seek forgiveness; feel such regret for sins, crimes, or omissions as produces amendment of life," from Old French repentir (11c.), from re-, here perhaps used as an intensive prefix, "very much" (see re-), + Vulgar Latin *penitir
    sincere
    1530s, "pure, unmixed, unadulterated;" also "free from pretense or falsehood," from French sincere (16c.), from Latin sincerus, of things, "whole, clean, pure, uninjured, unmixed," figuratively "sound, genuine, pure, true, candid, truthful" (unadulterated by deceit), a word of un
    kudos
    "fame, renown, glory," 1799, probably originally in university slang, from Greek kydos "glory, fame," especially in battle, "a poetical word, found chiefly in the Iliad and Odyssey" [Century Dictionary], literally "that which is heard of," perhaps from PIE root *keu- "to see, obs
    empathy
    1908, modeled on German Einfühlung (from ein "in" + Fühlung "feeling"), which was coined 1858 by German philosopher Rudolf Lotze (1817-1881) as a translation of Greek empatheia "passion, state of emotion," from assimilated form of en "in" (see en- (2)) + pathos "feeling" (from PI
    atavism
    1833, in biology, "reversion by influence of heredity to ancestral characteristics, resemblance of a given organism to some remote ancestor, return to an early or original type," from French atavisme, attested by 1820s, said to have been coined by French botanist Antoine-Nicolas
    Gothic
    "of the Goths," the ancient Germanic people, "pertaining to the Goths or their language," 1610s, from Late Latin Gothicus, from Gothi, Greek Gothoi (see Goth). Old English had Gotisc. As a noun, "the language of the Goths," from 1757. Gothic was used by 17c. scholars to mean "Ger
    virtue
    c. 1200, vertu, "moral life and conduct; a particular moral excellence," from Anglo-French and Old French vertu "force, strength, vigor; moral strength; qualities, abilities" (10c. in Old French), from Latin virtutem (nominative virtus) "moral strength, high character, goodness;
    focus
    1640s, "point of convergence," from Latin focus "hearth, fireplace" (also, figuratively, "home, family"), which is of unknown origin. Used in post-classical times for "fire" itself; taken by Kepler (1604) in a mathematical sense for "point of convergence," perhaps on analogy of t
    elf
    "one of a race of powerful supernatural beings in Germanic folklore," Old English elf (Mercian, Kentish), ælf (Northumbrian), ylfe (plural, West Saxon) "sprite, fairy, goblin, incubus," from Proto-Germanic *albiz (source also of Old Saxon alf, Old Norse alfr, German alp "evil spi

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