fossil
//ˈfɒsl̩//
Forms
- Plural
- fossils
Definitions
1.The mineralized remains of an animal or plant.
- Within the Hepaticae two types of fossils can be distinguished: those with sufficient characters to assign them to an order and those with more obscure characters.
- With the permission of the Keeper of the fossil collection, therefore, the specimen was subjected to a further careful removal of the matrix in the requisite directions.
2.Any preserved evidence of ancient life, including shells, imprints, burrows, coprolites, and organically-produced chemicals.
- He draws eclectically on studies of baboons, descriptive anthropological accounts of hunter-gatherer societies and, in a few cases, the fossil record.
- You know what, we’ve got a limited number of heartbeats in this world so if you’re only truly happy researching fossils and can make it work for you, you go for it.
3.Anything extremely old, extinct, or outdated.
4.A fossil word.
Frequency
Overall
Rare· #4467
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Rare
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
From French fossile
From Latin fossilis (“something which has been dug up”)
From fodio (“to dig up”).