Hypertext Webster Gateway: "cretaceous"
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Cretaceous \Cre*ta"ceous\, a. Also Cretacic \Cre*tac"ic\ (Geol.)
Of, pertaining to, or designating, the period of time
following the Jurassic and preceding the Eocene.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)
Cretaceous \Cre*ta"ceous\ (kr[-e]*t[=a]"sh[u^]s), a. [L.
cretaceus, fr. creta chalk. See {Crayon}.]
Having the qualities of chalk; abounding with chalk; chalky;
as, cretaceous rocks and formations. See {Chalk}.
{Cretaceous acid}, an old name for carbonic acid.
{Cretaceous formation} (Geol.), the series of strata of
various kinds, including beds of chalk, green sand, etc.,
formed in the Cretaceous period; -- called also the {chalk
formation}. See the Diagram under {Geology}.
{Cretaceous period} (Geol.), the time in the latter part of
the Mesozoic age during which the Cretaceous formation was
deposited.
From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)
cretaceous
adj 1: abounding in chalk
2: of or relating to the Cretaceous geologic era; "cretaceous
rocks"
n : from 63 million to 135 million years ago; end of the age of
reptiles; appearance of modern insects and flowering
plants [syn: {Cretaceous}, {Cretaceous period}]
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