Oligocene, a. Geol.
(ˈɒlɪgəʊsiːn)
[mod. f. oligo- + Gr. καινός new, recent.]
Of certain Tertiary strata: Of an intermediate age between the Eocene and Miocene formations.
| 1859 Page Hand-bk. Geol. Terms, Oligocene,..employed by M. Beyrich [1854] to designate certain Tertiary beds of Germany..which appear to be neither exactly of Eocene nor of Miocene age, but to occupy an intermediate position. 1872 R. B. Smyth Mining Statist. 18 The Pliocene rocks of the Murray basin and those in Gipps Land, which..overlie Miocene and Oligocene and Eocene rocks. 1882 Geikie Geol. Sk. 281 As far back as Miocene or Oligocene times. |