What does prehistoric mean?
Word: Prehistoric
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Prehistoric means belonging to the very long time before people began to write things down.
How do you spell prehistoric?
Syllables: pre - his - tor - ic
Tricky part: The vowel after the t is the slip. In history it is barely heard, so children write er or ar there. Here the beat falls on it, and it is an o.
Watch out for: prehisteric, prehistorric
Memory tip: History and story are related words, so let one help the other: the stor of story sits in the middle here too.
Prehistoric in a sentence
Example 1: At the science museum we saw a model of a prehistoric fish with huge fins.
Example 2: The guide at Bhimbetka in Madhya Pradesh told us that people lived in these rock shelters in prehistoric times.
Example 3: My little brother pretends his toy crocodile is a prehistoric creature.
Fun Fact
The word is fairly young. It came into English in the 1800s, when scholars needed a name for the ages before written records began.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Choose the prefix that completes the word:
____historic
a) pri
b) pre
c) prie
d) pra
Show answer
b) pre. This prefix means before, and it is the same one found in preview and prepare.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
iprcsohitre
a) prescription
b) prehistoric
c) prestigious
d) presidential
Show answer
b) prehistoric. Each of the other three needs letters the jumble does not have, such as d, n, g or u.
Word Connection
Choose the antonym of the word:
prehistoric
a) ancient
b) primitive
c) modern
d) early
Show answer
c) modern. Prehistoric things belong to the far past, while modern things belong to today.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the correctly spelt word:
a) skeletan
b) musium
c) prehistoric
d) fossel
Show answer
c) prehistoric. The three wrong ones should read skeleton, museum and fossil.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A prehistoric family could NOT have used ____.
a) a wood fire
b) a mobile phone
c) a stone tool
d) a clay pot
Show answer
b) a mobile phone
2. We know about prehistoric times mainly from ____.
a) bones, tools and cave paintings
b) printed books of the time
c) old newspapers and letters
d) diaries kept by kings
Show answer
a) bones, tools and cave paintings
