Laurentia

English

Etymology

A New Latin formation named after the Saint Lawrence River: Laurentius (Lawrence) +‎ -ia (New Latin suffix for creating place names). Or, back-formed from Laurentian (from French laurentien), already in use to describe the Laurentian Mountains and their associated geologic complex (and by extension Canada as a whole). (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)

Pronunciation

  • (US) IPA(key): /lɑˈɹɛn.ʃə/, /lɑˈɹɛn.ʃi.ə/[1]
  • (UK) IPA(key): /lɒˈɹɛn.ʃə/, /lɒˈɹɛn.ʃi.ə/
  • Hyphenation: Lau‧ren‧tia, Lau‧ren‧ti.a

Proper noun

Laurentia

  1. (geology) The craton that forms the geological core of North America, and that was a separate continent in the past (before merging into Laurasia).
    • 2015, Kent C. Condie, Plate Tectonics & Crustal Evolution:
      Laurentia includes most of North America, Scotland and Ireland north of the Caledonian suture, Greenland, Spitzbergen, and the Chukotsk peninsula of eastern Siberia.
  2. (nonstandard) Canada.

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ Laurentia”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.