Standard Lemma guide

Mesolithic

adj · noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • mĕsōlĭthīk
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: M EH2 Z AH0 L IH1 TH IH0 K Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of or referring to the Middle Stone Age (also the Mesolithic period or the Mesolithic age), a prehistoric period that lasted between 10000 and 3000 BC.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Short for the Mesolithic period.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective

Meaning 3

of or relating to a middle period of the Stone Age (following the paleolithic)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

middle part of the Stone Age beginning about 15,000 years ago

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: Mesolithic Age, Epipaleolithic

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: time period, period of time, period

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *me Proto-Indo-European *dheh1-? Proto-Indo-European *-dhe Proto-Indo-European *médhi Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *médhyos Proto-Hellenic *métsos Ancient Greek μέσος (mésos)der. English meso- English -lithic English Mesolithic From meso- + -lithic.

Across languages

Translations

44 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Belarusian: мезаліты́чны (mjezalitýčny) — of or referring to the Middle Stone Age
  • Catalan: mesolític — of or referring to the Middle Stone Age
  • Finnish: mesoliittinen — of or referring to the Middle Stone Age
  • Galician: mesolítico — of or referring to the Middle Stone Age
  • German: mittelsteinzeitlich — of or referring to the Middle Stone Age
  • German: mesolithisch — of or referring to the Middle Stone Age
  • Hindi: मध्यपाषाण (madhyapāṣāṇ) — of or referring to the Middle Stone Age
  • Irish: Méisiliteach — of or referring to the Middle Stone Age
  • Korean: 중석기 시대 (Jungseokgi sidae) — of or referring to the Middle Stone Age
  • Korean: 중석기 (Jungseokgi) — of or referring to the Middle Stone Age
  • Polish: mezolityczny — of or referring to the Middle Stone Age
  • Russian: мезолити́ческий (mezolitíčeskij) — of or referring to the Middle Stone Age
  • Ukrainian: мезоліти́чний (mezolitýčnyj) — of or referring to the Middle Stone Age
  • Ukrainian: середньокам'яни́й (serednʹokamʺjanýj) — of or referring to the Middle Stone Age
  • Asturian: mesolíticu — Mesolithic period
  • Belarusian: мезалі́т (mjezalít) — Mesolithic period
  • Catalan: mesolític — Mesolithic period
  • Chinese: 中石器時代 /中石器时代 (Zhōngshíqì Shídài) — Mesolithic period
  • Czech: mezolit — Mesolithic period
  • Danish: ældre stenalder — Mesolithic period
  • Dutch: Mesolithicum — Mesolithic period
  • Estonian: mesoliitikum — Mesolithic period
  • Finnish: mesoliittinen kausi — Mesolithic period
  • French: mésolithique — Mesolithic period
  • Galician: mesolítico — Mesolithic period
  • German: Mittelsteinzeit — Mesolithic period
  • German: Mesolithikum — Mesolithic period
  • Greek: νεοολιθική (neoolithikí) — Mesolithic period
  • Hebrew: תקופת האבן התיכונה — Mesolithic period
  • Hindi: मध्यपाषाण काल (madhyapāṣāṇ kāl) — Mesolithic period
  • Interlingua: mesolitico — Mesolithic period
  • Italian: mesolitico — Mesolithic period
  • Japanese: 中石器時代 (Chūsekki Jidai) — Mesolithic period
  • Korean: 중석기 시대 (Jungseokgi sidae) — Mesolithic period
  • Latin: mesolithicus — Mesolithic period
  • Latvian: Mesolīts — Mesolithic period
  • Polish: mezolit — Mesolithic period
  • Portuguese: Mesolítico — Mesolithic period
  • Russian: Мезоли́т (Mezolít) — Mesolithic period
  • Sicilian: mesoliticu — Mesolithic period
  • Slovene: mezolitik — Mesolithic period
  • Spanish: Mesolítico — Mesolithic period
  • Swedish: mesolitisk tid — Mesolithic period
  • Ukrainian: мезолі́т (mezolít) — Mesolithic period
Real reading context

Mesolithic in complete knowledge articles