prehistoric

• pre-historic

From pre- (“before”) +‎ historic, q.v., similar to slightly earlier ante-historic.

• Rhymes: -ɒɹɪk

prehistoric (comparative more prehistoric, superlative most prehistoric)

1. (properly) Of or relating to the epoch before written record.

   Synonym: ante-historic

   • 1832 October, Foreign Quarterly Review, page 369:

     Was it then in a pre-historic time that the Romans wandered into these lands?

   • 1981, William Irwin Thompson, The Time Falling Bodies Take to Light: Mythology, Sexuality and the Origins of Culture, London: Rider/Hutchinson & Co., page 137:

     The cartoon image of prehistoric woman being dragged by the hair by her caveman-husband probably conditions the perceptions of archaeologists far more than they realize.

2. (inexact or humorous) Ancient; very old, outdated, etc.

   Synonym: antediluvian

• prehistorically
• prehistoric age

• prehistory

• French: préhistorique

• precontact