antediluvial, a. rare.
(ˌæntɪdɪˈl(j)uːvɪəl)
[f. ante- + diluvi-um deluge + -al1.]
Applied by Buckland to geological formations older than the ‘diluvial’ (then attributed to the Noachian deluge).
| 1823 Buckland Reliq. Diluv. 2, I have felt myself fully justified in applying the epithet..antediluvial to the state of things immediately preceding it [this great convulsion]. 1827 Edin. Rev. XLV. 317 The ante-diluvial rocks have a more compact stony aspect. |