fossil
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fos·sil
(fŏs′əl)n.
1. A remnant or trace of an organism of a past geologic age, such as a skeleton or leaf imprint, embedded and preserved in the earth's crust.
2. One that is outdated or antiquated: He was viewed as a fossil after decades in the same job.
3. Linguistics
a. A word or morpheme that is used only in certain restricted contexts, as kempt in unkempt, but is otherwise obsolete.
b. An archaic syntactic rule or pattern used only in idioms, as so be it.
adj.
1. Characteristic of or having the nature of a fossil.
2. Being or similar to a fossil.
3. Belonging to the past; antiquated.
[From Latin fossilis, dug up, from fossus, past participle of fodere, to dig.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
fossil
(ˈfɒsəl)n
1. (Palaeontology)
a. 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
b. (as modifier): fossil insects.
2. informal derogatory
a. a person, idea, thing, etc, that is outdated or incapable of change
b. (as modifier): fossil politicians.
3. (Linguistics) 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
4. obsolete any rock or mineral dug out of the earth
[C17: from Latin fossilis dug up, from fodere to dig]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
fos•sil
(ˈfɒs əl)n.
1. any preserved remains or imprint of a living organism, usu. of a former geologic age, as a bone, shell, or leaf impression.
2. a markedly outdated or old-fashioned person or thing.
3. an obsolete or archaic word preserved in certain restricted contexts, as nonce in for the nonce, or a construction following a pattern no longer productive in the language, as So be it.
adj. 4. of the nature of a fossil: fossil insects.
5. formed from the remains of prehistoric life, as coal or oil: fossil fuels; fossil resins.
6. antiquated.
[1555–65; < French fossile < Latin fossilisobtained by digging, derivative of fodere to dig]
fos′sil•like`, adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
fos·sil
(fŏs′əl) The hardened remains or imprint of a plant or animal that lived long ago. Fossils are often found in layers of sedimentary rock and along the beds of rivers that flow through them. Other sources of fossils include tar pits, ice, and amber. ♦ Petroleum, coal, and natural gas, which are derived from the accumulated remains of ancient plants and animals, are called fossil fuels.
fossilize verb
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
fossil
1. The remains of a prehistoric plant or animal found preserved in a solid, mineralized form in rocks or, sometimes, frozen in ice.
2. The remains or trace of an organism preserved in sedimentary rocks.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Switch to new thesaurus
| Noun | 1. | fossil - someone whose style is out of fashion colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech |
| 2. | fossil - 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 fucoid - a fossilized cast or impression of algae of the order Fucales belemnite - a conical calcareous fossil tapering to a point at one end and with a conical cavity at the other end containing (when unbroken) a small chambered phragmocone from the shell of any of numerous extinct cephalopods of the family Belemnitidae guide fossil, index fossil - a fossil known to have lived in a particular geologic age that can be used to date the rock layer in which it is found microfossil - a fossil that must be studied microscopically remains - any object that is left unused or still extant; "I threw out the remains of my dinner" wormcast - fossil trail of a worm | |
| Adj. | 1. | fossil - characteristic of a fossil |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
fossil
noun fossilized remains, remains, petrified remains, impression, relic They dissolved the fossil and extracted the DNA.
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
fossil
nounAn old-fashioned person who is reluctant to change or innovate:
Informal: stick-in-the-mud.
Slang: square.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
مُتَحَجِّرَه
zkamenělina
fossilforstening
FossilInkluse
fossiili
fosil
kövület
steingervingur
化石
fosilijapaversti į akmenįsuakmenėjusi liekana
fosilija
skamenelina
okamnina
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
fossil
[ˈfɒsəl] n → fossile m
modif [collector, hunter] → de fossilesfossil energy n → énergie f fossilefossil fuel n → combustible m fossile
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995
fossil
(ˈfosl) noun the hardened remains of an animal or vegetable found in rock. Fossils have been found here which may be a million years old.
ˈfossilize, ˈfossilise verb to change into a fossil. Time had fossilized the animal remains in the river-bed.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.