Noachian
adjective
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Students of the Bible know that Noah survived the Great Flood by stowing himself, his family, and male and female specimens of every kind of creature on his Ark. Noachian is derived from the Hebrew name for Noah. Modern contexts find Noachian used in reference to the Great Flood or, more humorously, to describe torrential rainstorms and flooding reminiscent of the Biblical event. It could be said that usage of Noachian spans even beyond planet Earth. Astronomers studying the surface of the planet Mars use Noachian to refer to the epoch between 4.6 and 3.5 billion years ago when that planet's oldest craters were believed to be formed. This usage is based on Noachis Terra, the name of one of the landmasses of Mars, which translates as "Land of Noah" and was chosen in the 19th century by Italian astronomer Giovanni Schiaparelli.
Examples of Noachian in a Sentence
Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 29 Jan. 2025
Researchers believe that the Jezero Crater housed a lake slightly larger than Lake Tahoe during Mars's Noachian epoch, between 3.8 and 4.6 billion years ago.
—Discover Magazine, 29 June 2010
Cite this Entry
“Noachian.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Noachian. Accessed 28 May. 2025.
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