fossil
[ fos-uh l ]
/ ˈfɒs əl /
noun
any remains, impression, or trace of a living thing of a former geologic age, as a skeleton, footprint, etc.
a markedly outdated or old-fashioned person or thing.
a linguistic form that is archaic except in certain restricted contexts, as nonce in for the nonce, or that follows a rule or pattern that is no longer productive, as the sentence So be it.
adjective
of the nature of a fossil: fossil insects.
belonging to a past epoch or discarded system; antiquated: a fossil approach to economics.
Origin of fossil
1555–65; < Latin
fossilis dug up (Cf.
fodere to dig); replacing earlier
fossile < French
OTHER WORDS FROM fossil
fos·sil·like, adjective sub·fos·sil, nounWords nearby fossil
fosse,
fosse way,
fossette,
fossey,
fossick,
fossil,
fossil energy,
fossil fuel,
fossil fuels,
fossil gum,
fossil record
Example sentences from the Web for fossil
British Dictionary definitions for fossil
fossil
/ (ˈfɒsəl) /
noun
- a relic, remnant, or representation of an organism that existed in a past geological age, or of the activity of such an organism, occurring in the form of mineralized bones, shells, etc, as casts, impressions, and moulds, and as frozen perfectly preserved organisms
- (as modifier)fossil insects
informal, derogatory
- a person, idea, thing, etc, that is outdated or incapable of change
- (as modifier)fossil politicians
linguistics
a form once current but now appearing only in one or two special contexts, as for example stead, which is found now only in instead (of) and in phrases like in his stead
obsolete
any rock or mineral dug out of the earth
Word Origin for fossil
C17: from Latin
fossilis dug up, from
fodere to dig
Scientific definitions for fossil
fossil
[ fŏs′əl ]
The remains or imprint of an organism from a previous geologic time. A fossil can consist of the preserved tissues of an organism, as when encased in amber, ice, or pitch, or more commonly of the hardened relic of such tissues, as when organic matter is replaced by dissolved minerals. Hardened fossils are often found in layers of sedimentary rock and along the beds of rivers that flow through them. See also index fossil microfossil trace fossil.
Other words from fossil
fossilize verbCultural definitions for fossil
fossil
The evidence in rock of the presence of a plant or an animal from an earlier geological period. Fossils are formed when minerals in groundwater replace materials in bones and tissue, creating a replica in stone of the original organism or of their tracks. The study of fossils is the domain of paleontology. The oldest fossils (of bacteria) are 3.8 billion years old.
notes for fossil
The term is used figuratively to refer to a person with very old-fashioned or outmoded viewpoints: “That old fossil thinks that men should wear suits at the theater!”