prediluvialadj.
/ˌpriːdʌɪˈl(j)uːvɪəl/, /ˌpriːdᵻˈl(j)uːvɪəl/, U.S. /ˌpridəˈluviəl/ Geology. Now rare.
Relating to or characteristic of a period prior to the time of deposition of diluvial drift deposits (originally identified with the biblical Flood); older than such deposits. Cf. diluvial adj. 2.
ΚΠ
1858 B. Taylor Northern Trav. xxvi. 269 The Kiöllefjord, which in the pre-diluvial times must have been a tremendous mountain gorge.
1895 Geogr. Jrnl. 5 270 The passage of the Danube through this region is but rarely touched upon in literature, though the opinion has been occasionally expressed, but only as a conjecture, that its valley is pre-diluvial.
1902 Geogr. Jrnl. 19 212 As prediluvial (neogene) deposits are not found anywhere in the neighbourhood, it follows that the Scutari lake must have first come into existence in the diluvial period.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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