Noachian

adjective

No·​a·​chi·​an nō-ˈā-kē-ən 

1

: of or relating to the patriarch Noah or his time

2

: ancient, antiquated

Did you know?

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.

Synonyms

• archaic
• obsolete
• medieval
• antiquated
• prehistoric
• prehistorical

Examples of Noachian in a Sentence

Noachian farm equipment that probably belongs in a museum somewhere.

Recent Examples on the Web

The climate of ancient Mars struck a balance that allowed water to exist; in particular, the late Noachian period (about 4.1 billion years to 3.5 billion years ago) is thought to have been a time when Mars was potentially habitable, even having rainfall that caused erosion. —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

Word History

Etymology

Hebrew Nōaḥ Noah

First Known Use

1678, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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