Neolithic

See also: neolithic

English

WOTD – 5 June 2008

Etymology

From neo- +‎ -lithic. Coined by English banker, Liberal politician, philanthropist, scientist and polymath John Lubbock, 1st Baron Avebury, in 1865 as a refinement of the three-age system.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌniː.əˈlɪθ.ɪk/, /ˌniː.əʊˈlɪθ.ɪk/
• (US, Canada) IPA^(key): /ˌni.əˈlɪθ.ɪk/, enPR: nēōlĭthīk, IPA^(key): /ˌni.oʊˈlɪθ.ɪk/

  • Audio (US); [ˌni.ɨˈlɪθ.ɪk]:

    (file)

  • Audio (US); [ˌni.əˈlɪθ.ɪk]:

    (file)

• (Australia) IPA^(key): /ˌniː.əˈlɪθ.ɪk/

  • Audio (Queensland):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪθɪk
• Hyphenation: Neo‧lith‧ic

Proper noun

Neolithic

1. The period of prehistory from circa 8500 to 4500 BCE.

   Synonym: New Stone Age

   Holonyms: Stone Age < prehistory

   Meronyms: Pre-Pottery Neolithic, Pre-Pottery Neolithic A, Pre-Pottery Neolithic B

   Comeronyms: Old Stone Age, Paleolithic

Translations

the New Stone Age

• Asturian: neolíticu m
• Bulgarian: новокаменна епоха f (novokamenna epoha)
• Catalan: neolític m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 新石器時代 / 新石器时代 (zh) (Xīnshíqì Shídài)

• Crimean Tatar: neolit
• Czech: neolit (cs) m
• Dutch: neolithicum (nl) n
• Estonian: neoliitikum
• Finnish: neoliittinen kausi, nuorempi kivikausi
• French: néolithique (fr) m, Néolithique (fr) m, Néolithique (fr) f
• Galician: neolítico (gl) m
• German: Jungsteinzeit (de) f, Neolithikum (de) n
• Greek: Νεολιθική f (Neolithikí)
• Hindi: नवपाषाण युग m (navpāṣāṇ yug)
• Interlingua: Neolitic m
• Irish: an Nua-Chlochaois f, An Tréimhse Neoiliteach f
• Italian: neolitico (it) m
• Korean: 신석기 시대(新石器時代) (ko) (Sinseokgi sidae)
• Maltese: neolitiku
• Polish: neolit (pl) m
• Portuguese: neolítico (pt) m
• Russian: неоли́т (ru) m (neolít)
• Scottish Gaelic: Linn Ùr na Cloiche f
• Sicilian: neoliticu m
• Slovene: mlajša kamena doba (sl) f
• Spanish: neolítico (es) m
• Swedish: neolitisk tid c, bondestenålder (sv) c, yngre stenålder c, neolitikum (sv)
• Thai: ยุคหินใหม่ (yóok hĭn mài)
• Turkish: Neolitik Çağ
• Vietnamese: thời đại đồ đá mới

Adjective

Neolithic (not comparable)

1. Of or relating to the New Stone Age.

   Alternative form: neolithic

   • 2001, Duncan J. Melville, “Tokens: the origin of mathematics”, in Mesopotamian Mathematics‎^[1], archived from the original on 6 February 2007:

     Tokens are first identified at around the same time as the local peoples changed from a life based on hunting and gathering to one based on agriculture. The tokens, as Schmandt-Besserat says, "were part and parcel of the Neolithic phenomenon; that is, the so-called agricultural revolution." (Before Writing 41).

   • 2013 September 14, Jane Shilling, “The Golden Thread: the Story of Writing, by Ewan Clayton, review [print edition: Illuminating language]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review)‎^[2], page R28:

     ... I was fascinated by a pair of stories about a Neolithic girl who wrote the first letter, and invented the first alphabet.

Derived terms

• Neolithically
• Neolithic Revolution
• preneolithic

Translations

of or relating to the New Stone Age

• Belarusian: неаліты́чны (njealitýčny)
• Catalan: neolític
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 新石器時代的 / 新石器时代的 (Xīnshíqì Shídài de)

• Czech: neolitický (cs) m
• Danish: yngre stenalder
• Finnish: neoliittinen (fi)
• French: néolithique (fr)
• Galician: neolítico (gl) m
• German: jungsteinzeitlich (de), neolithisch (de)
• Greek: νεολιθικός (el) f (neolithikós)
• Hindi: नवपाषाण (navpāṣāṇ)
• Irish: Neoiliteach
• Italian: neolitico (it)
• Japanese: 新石器時代 (ja) (しんせっきじだい, Shinsekki Jidai)
• Korean: 신석기 시대(新石器時代) (ko) (Sinseokgi sidae), 신석기(新石器) (Sinseokgi)
• Latin: neolithicus
• Latvian: neolīts
• Maltese: neolitiku m, neolitiċi pl
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: neolittisk

  Nynorsk: neolittisk

• Polish: neolityczny (pl) m
• Portuguese: neolítico (pt) m
• Russian: неолити́ческий (ru) (neolitíčeskij)
• Spanish: neolítico (es)
• Turkish: neolitik (tr)
• Ukrainian: неоліти́чний (neolitýčnyj), новокам'яни́й (novokamʺjanýj)

Noun

Neolithic (plural Neolithics)

1. A person who lived during the New Stone Age.
   • 2011, Seán Lang, European History For Dummies, page 27:

     For the Neolithics, the stone was flint, and it's still impressive to see what they were able to achieve with it.

Related terms

• lith
• Mesolithic
• Paleolithic

Anagrams

• Nicholite, ichnolite