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]
- (pin–pen merger) IPA(key): /lɑˈɹɪn.ʃə/, /lɑˈɹɪn.ʃi.ə/
- (UK) IPA(key): /lɒˈɹɛn.ʃə/, /lɒˈɹɛn.ʃi.ə/
- Hyphenation: Lau‧ren‧tia, Lau‧ren‧ti.a
Proper noun
Laurentia
- (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.
- (nonstandard) Canada.
Derived terms
References
- ^ “Laurentia”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.