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illustration Eustasy

Eustasy

[YOO-stə-see]

Part of speech: noun

Origin: Greek, 1940s

1.

A change of sea level throughout the world, caused typically by movements of parts of the Earth's crust or melting of glaciers.

Examples of Eustasy in a sentence

"Today, we’re learning about eustasy in our marine science class."

"Oceanographers like Jacques Cousteau likely researched eustasy during their careers."

About Eustasy

This word came into use in the 1940s as a back-formation from “eustatic.” It was coined in German from the Greek “eu,” meaning “well” and “statikos,” meaning “static.”

Did you Know?

Even though “eustasy” is the standard spelling in scientific circles (and in the Oxford dictionary), “eustacy” is the only spelling of this word in other dictionaries. The “-cy” suffix is an evolution of the Latin “-atia” suffix.

illustration Eustasy

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