Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,730,147,208 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

fossil

   Also found in: Medical, Legal, Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
fos·sil  (fsl)
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 One, such as a rigid theory, that is outdated or antiquated.
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.]

fossil [ˈfɒsəl]
n
1. (Earth Sciences / 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a.  a person, idea, thing, etc., that is outdated or incapable of change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
[from Latin fossilis dug up, from fodere to dig]

fossil  (fsl)
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 fossilmicrofossiltrace fossil

fossilize verb
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.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
ammonite, ammonoid - one of the coiled chambered fossil shells of extinct mollusks
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

fossil
noun fossilized remains, remains, petrified remains, impression, relic They dissolved the fossil and extracted the DNA.
Translations
fossil [ˈfɒsl]
A. Nfósil m
B. CPDfósil
fossil fuel Nhidrocarburo m

fossil [ˈfɒsəl]
nfossile m
modif [collector, hunter] → de fossiles
fossil energy nénergie f fossile
fossil fuel ncombustible m fossile

fossil
n (lit)Fossil nt; he’s an old fossil! (inf)er ist so verknöchert
adjversteinert

fossil [ˈfɒsl] n & adjfossile (m)
fossil [ˈfɒsl] n & adjfossile (m)

fossil
n fossil [ˈfosl]
the hardened remains of an animal or vegetable found in rock Fossils have been found here which may be a million years old. fossiel مُتَحَجِّرَه вкаменелост zkamenělina fossil; forstening das Fossil απολίθωμα fósil kivistis فسیل fossiili fossile מְאוּבָּן जीवाश्म fosil, okamina kövület fosil steingervingur fossile 化石 화석 suakmenėjusi liekana, fosilija fosilija fosil fossiel fossil, forsteining skamielina fóssil fosilă ископаемое skamenelina okamnina fosil fossil ซากพืชหรือสัตว์ที่เป็นหิน fosil 化石 скам'янілість متحجر ، پتھرایا ہوا ڈھانچا، فوصل vật hoá đá; hoá thạch
v fossilize, ˈfossilise
to change into a fossil Time had fossilized the animal remains in the river-bed. fossiliseer يَتَحَجَّر вкаменявам се zkamenět forstene versteinern απολιθώνω fosilizar kivistama, kivistuma سنگواره کردن kivettyä fossiliser לְאַבֵּן जीवाश्म बनना fosilizirati (se), okameniti (se) megkövesít menjadi fosil steingerva(st) fossilizzare 化石にする 화석이 되게 하다 paversti į akmenį pārakmeņoties menjadi fosil verstenen forsteine zamieniać w kamień fossilizar a transforma în fosile превращать(ся) в окаменелость skamenieť okamneti okameniti fossilisera[] กลายเป็นซากพืชซากสัตว์ fosilleşmek 使成化石 перетворювати(ся) на камінь فوصل میں تبدیل کرنا hoá thạch; hóa đá 使


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
The Zoology of the Voyage of the Beagle includes an account of the Fossil Mammalia, by Professor Owen; of the Living Mammalia, by Mr.
It was now their turn to impose some limit on that selenographic science, which had reconstructed the lunar world as Cuvier did the skeleton of a fossil, and say, "The moon
Ah, if I had only known then that he was only a common mortal, and that his mission had nothing more overpowering about it than the collecting of seeds and uncommon yams and extraordinary cabbages and peculiar bullfrogs for that poor, useless, innocent, mildewed old fossil the Smithsonian Institute, I would have felt so much relieved.
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.