Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Permian \Per"mi*an\, a. [From the ancient kingdom of Permia,
   where the Permian formation exists.] (Geol.)
   Belonging or relating to the period, and also to the
   formation, next following the Carboniferous, and regarded as
   closing the Carboniferous age and Paleozoic era. -- n. The
   Permian period. See Chart of {Geology}.

Permians \Per"mi*ans\, n. pl.; sing. {Permian}. (Ethnol.)
   A tribe belonging to the Finnic race, and inhabiting a
   portion of Russia.

Source : WordNet®

Permian
     n : from 280 million to 230 million years ago; reptiles [syn: {Permian
         period}]