Pliocene
/ˈplaɪəsiːn/adjective
Pliocene is spelled P-L-I-O-C-E-N-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, Pliocene means “Of a geologic epoch within the Neogene period from about 5.3 to 1.7 million years ago; marked by the appearance of humanity's first ancestors” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in Pliocene?
| Letters | 8: P-L-I-O-C-E-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 42,680th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is Pliocene?
Pliocene appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 42,680th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce Pliocene?
- /ˈplaɪəsiːn/
Pliocene has 3 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-Pliocene.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of Pliocene
- Pleiocene
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does Pliocene mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of a geologic epoch within the Neogene period from about 5.3 to 1.7 million years ago; marked by the appearance of humanity's first ancestors.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does Pliocene come from?
From Ancient Greek πλείων (pleíōn, “more”) + καινός (kainós, “new”). Coined by English philosopher and historian of science William Whewell in 1831 for Charles Lyell, who introduced it in 1833 in his book Principles of Geology. By surface analysis, pleio- + -cene.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).