carboniferous

UK: 'carboniferous', 'Carboniferous': /ˌkɑːbəˈnɪfərəs/

US: (kär′bə nif′ər əs)

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

carboniferous / ˌkɑːbəˈnɪfərəs/ adjective

1. yielding coal or carbon

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

Car•bon•if•er•ous  (kär′bə nif′ər əs), [Geol.]
adj. 

1. Geology noting or pertaining to a period of the Paleozoic Era, including the Pennsylvanian and Mississippian periods as epochs, occurring from 345 million to 280 million years ago. See table under geologic time. 
2. Geology (l.c.) producing carbon or coal.

n. 

3. Geology the Carboniferous Period or System.

• Latin carbōn- (stem of carbō) coal + -i- + -ferous
• 1790–1800

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

Carboniferous / ˌkɑːbəˈnɪfərəs/ adjective

1. of, denoting, or formed in the fifth period of the Palaeozoic era, between the Devonian and Permian periods, lasting for nearly 64 million years during which coal measures were formed

noun

1. the Carboniferous ⇒ the Carboniferous period or rock system