plio-comb. form
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Stress is usually determined by a subsequent element and vowels may be reduced accordingly; see e.g.
Pliocene adj. and n.Origin: A borrowing from Greek. Etymon: Greek πλείων.
Etymology: < ancient Greek πλείων (see pleio- comb. form); compare -o- connective. Compare pleio- comb. form and pleo- comb. form, and see discussion at pleo- comb. form. Compare scientific Latin Plio- (also Pleio- ; in e.g. Pleiosaurus Pliosaurus n., Pliolophus Pliolophus n.), French plio- (also pléio-; formations are found from the middle of the 19th cent.).Formations are found from the mid 19th cent., earliest in Pliocene adj. Subsequently found in a number of formations coined in the 19th cent. in palaeontology and geology, some of which are loans and adaptations of scientific Latin words (as e.g. Pliosaurus n., Pliolophus n.), although compare in electronics the 20th-cent. coinage pliotron n.). Combining with second elements ultimately of Greek origin.
Chiefly
Palaeontology and
Geology.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online December 2020).