ice age

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word ice age. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word ice age, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say ice age in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word ice age you have here. The definition of the word ice age will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofice age, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: Ice Age

English

Neko Harbour, Antarctica circa 2000

Alternative forms

Etymology

Perhaps a calque of German Eiszeit.

Noun

ice age (plural ice ages)

  1. (sciences) A period of long-term reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence of major polar ice sheets that reach the ocean and calve icebergs.
    The earth is currently in the Late Cenozoic Ice Age, an ice age that began 33.9 million years ago with the Antarctic Ice Cap.
  2. (colloquial) Any of several glacial periods (within a scientific ice age) marked by episodes of extensive glaciation alternating with episodes of relative warmth (interglacial).
    • 2003, Bill Bryson, A Short History of Nearly Everything, BCA, published 2003, page 377:
      The cause of ice ages, Köppen decided, is to be found in cool summers, not brutal winters.

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “ice age”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
  2. ^ UMass Lowell - A human-induced hothouse climate? https://web.archive.org/web/20190510115634/http://faculty.uml.edu/lweeden/documents/HumaninducedhothouseGSAToday.pdf

Further reading

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia