Pleistocene

• (abbreviation) Ps

From Ancient Greek πλεῖστος (pleîstos, “most”) and καινός (kainós, “new”), meaning “newest”, coined by Charles Lyell in 1839.^[1]

• IPA^(key): /ˈplaɪstəˌsiːn/, /-toʊ-/

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Pleistocene (not comparable)

1. (geology) Of a geologic epoch within the Quaternary period from about 2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago (earlier definition 1.7 million to 11,000 years ago); marked by the evolution of man, and the extinction of the large mammals.

Pleistocene

1. (geology) The Pleistocene epoch.
   • 1977, F. Clark Howell, “Introduction”, in Paleoanthropology in the People's Republic of China‎^[1], →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 3:

     A prehistoric site of late Pleistocene age, which was especially prepared for our visit, was seen at Ting-ts'un, above the Fen River (Shansi).

   • 2017, Anthony J. McMichael, Alistair Woodward, Cameron Muir, Climate Change and the Health of Nations, →ISBN, page 89:

     Throughout the Pleistocene, climatic changes exerted another type of selective pressure on human biological evolution, contributing to the rapid emergence of various Homo species over time.

• Appendix:Geologic timescale

• Pleistocene on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “Pleistocene”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.