# Eocene

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˈiːəsiːn/ · frequency rank #36,127

## Definitions
1. Of a geologic epoch within the Paleogene period from about 56 to 34 million years ago.

## Etymology
From Ancient Greek ἠώς (ēṓs, “dawn”) + καινός (kainós, “new”) and refers to the "dawn" of modern ('new') fauna that appeared during the epoch. Coined by English polymath William Whewell in 1831 for Charles Lyell, who introduced it in 1833 in his book Principles of Geology. By surface analysis, eo- + -cene.

## Easily confused with
- **Eugene** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/eocene-vs-eugene)
- **emcee** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/emcee-vs-eocene)

## Common misspellings (7)
`ecoene`, `eoccene`, `eoceen`, `eocenne`, `eocnee`, `eoecne`, `oecene`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/eocene