FOSSIL

fossil

(adjective) characteristic of a fossil

fossil

(noun) the remains (or an impression) of a plant or animal that existed in a past geological age and that has been excavated from the soil

dodo, fogy, fogey, fossil

(noun) someone whose style is out of fashion

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Proper noun

Fossil

A small city, the county seat of Wheeler County, Oregon, United States.

Etymology

Noun

fossil (plural fossils)

The mineralized remains of an animal or plant.

(paleontology) Any preserved evidence of ancient life, including shells, imprints, burrows, coprolites, and organically-produced chemicals.

(linguistics) A fossil word.

(figuratively) Anything extremely old, extinct, or outdated.

Source: Wiktionary


Fos"sil, a. Etym: [L. fossilis, fr. fodere to dig: cf. F. fossile. See Fosse.]

1. Dug out of the eart; as, fossil coal; fossil salt.

2. (Paleon.)

Definition: Like or pertaining to fossils; contained in rocks. whether petrified or not; as, fossil plants, shells. Fossil copal, a resinous substance, first found in the blue clay at Highgate, near London, and apparently a vegetable resin, partly changed by remaining in the earth.

– Fossil cork, flax, paper, or wood, varieties of amianthus.

– Fossil farina, a soft carbonate of lime.

– Fossil ore, fossiliferous red hematite. Raymond.

Fos"sil, n.

1. A substance dug from the earth. [Obs.]

Note: Formerly all minerals were called fossils, but the word is now restricted to express the remains of animals and plants found buried in the earth. Ure.

2. (Paleon.)

Definition: The remains of an animal or plant found in stratified rocks. Most fossils belong to extinct species, but many of the later ones belong to species still living.

3. A person whose views and opinions are extremely antiquated; one whose sympathies are with a former time rather than with the present. [Colloq.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

24 December 2024

INTUITIVELY

(adverb) in an intuitive manner; “inventors seem to have chosen intuitively a combination of explosive and aggressive sounds as warning signals to be used on automobiles”


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Hawaii and California are the only two U.S. states that grow coffee plants commercially.

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