Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

carboniferous

/ˌkɑːbəˈnɪfəɹəs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.92 in modern English

Syllables: car-bonif-er-ous
IPA: /ˌkɑːbəˈnɪfəɹəs/

20

Scrabble Score

13

Letters

5

Syllables

11

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of a geologic period within the Paleozoic era; comprises the lower, middle and upper Mississippian and lower, middle and upper Pennsylvanian epochs from about 345 to 280 million years ago, when coal was laid down.

name

The Carboniferous period.

adj

Containing or producing carbon.

Example Sentences

"The earliest ink sacs appear in the fossil record in the Carboniferous period around 330 million years ago in cephalopods such as Donovaniconus, Gordoniconus and Saundersites which show a mix of features from older and more modern groups and are placed in their own order, Donovaniconida (Doguzhaeva 2012)."

Etymology

From carboniferous (“producing carbon”), from carbon + -i- + -ferous.

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /ˌkɑːbəˈnɪfəɹəs/

Inflected Forms

the Carboniferous (canonical) more carboniferous (comparative) most carboniferous (superlative)

Derived Forms

Subcarboniferous noncarboniferous

Phrases

Permo-Carboniferous

Synonyms

carbonaceous carbonous carbonic

Homonyms

carboniferous

Rhymes With

coniferous vociferous fossiliferous cruciferous seminiferous odoriferous splendiferous luminiferous metalliferous floriferous auriferous stoloniferous

Questions

How do you pronounce carboniferous?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˌkɑːbəˈnɪfəɹəs/.
What does carboniferous mean?: Of a geologic period within the Paleozoic era; comprises the lower, middle and upper Mississippian and lower, middle and upper Pennsylvanian epochs from about 345 to 280 million years ago, when coal was laid down.
Where does carboniferous come from?: From carboniferous (“producing carbon”), from carbon + -i- + -ferous.

How to pronounce carboniferous

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “carboniferous”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˌkɑːbəˈnɪfəɹəs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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