geologic

Etymology

It is formed from English geology + -ic,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} perhaps after French géologique, recorded from 1779 or earlier; compare Italian geologico (1792) and German geologisch (1795).^[2] The noun is from New Latin geologia (“the study of the earth”),^[3][2] formed from Ancient Greek γεω- (geō-, “earth”) and Latin -logia (“the study of”), from Ancient Greek -λογία (-logía).^[1] The adjective geological, formed with -ical, is older, recorded from before 1723.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or relating to geology: 1791, in the Monthly Review.^[2][5][7] Etymonline and the 1989 OED date it to 1799,^[3][8] and Dictionary.com to 1790–1800.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The word has always been a doublet of the older geological, and the OED defines its senses by those of that adjective.^[2] It was used of persons interested in geology from 1831,^[2] and the phrase geologic time is recorded from 1846.^[3] From 1866 it was also used with reference to the Moon, Mars and other bodies.^[2]

Timeline

• 1791 – of or relating to geology.^[2][5]
• 1831 – of a person, interested or expert in geology.^[2]
• 1846 – geologic time.^[3]
• 1866 – with reference to the Moon, Mars and other bodies.^[2]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of, relating to or based on geology; geological: The canyon walls show a long geologic history.^[5][7][2][1]
2. Relating to the rocks and structure of another planet or moon.^[2]
3. Of a person, interested or expert in geology.^[2][8]

Word family

• geologically
• geologic time

Related words

• geology
• geological
• geologist

Usage notes

The Shorter Oxford labels geologic as now chiefly American,^[4] and Merriam-Webster gives it with geological as an equal variant.^[5][7]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c d e Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press