preadamite
1 of 2noun
pre·adamite
prē+
1
: an inhabitant of the earth before Adam
2
: one who holds that men existed before Adam
specifically : a follower of the doctrine of Isaac La Peyrère that only the Jews are descendants of Adam and that the Gentiles descend from men who lived before Adam
preadamite
2 of 2adjective
pre·adamite
(ˈ)prē+
variants or less commonly preadamic or preadamitical
¦prē+
(¦)prē¦adə¦mitə̇kəl
: existing before Adam : of a time prior to that of Adam
Word History
Etymology
Noun
New Latin praeadamita, from Latin prae- pre- + Adam (the first man in the Bible) + Latin -ita -ite