fossil

American  

[fos-uhl] / ˈfɒs əl /

noun

1. any remains, impression, or trace of a living thing of a former geologic age, as a skeleton, footprint, etc.

2. a markedly outdated or old-fashioned person or thing.

3. 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.

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adjective

1. of the nature of a fossil.

   fossil insects.

2. belonging to a past epoch or discarded system; antiquated.

   a fossil approach to economics.

fossil British  

/ ˈfɒsəl /

noun

1. 1. 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

   2. ( as modifier )

      fossil insects

2. informal

   1. a person, idea, thing, etc, that is outdated or incapable of change

   2. ( as modifier )

      fossil politicians

3. 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

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fossil Scientific  

/ fŏs′əl /

1. 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.

2. See also index fossil microfossil trace fossil

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fossil Cultural  

1. 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.

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Discover More

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!”

Other Word Forms

• fossillike adjective
• subfossil noun

Etymology

Origin of fossil

First recorded in 1555–65; from Latin fossilis “dug up,” from foss(us) “dug” (past participle of fodere “to dig”) + -ilis -ile ( def. ); replacing earlier fossile, from French

Example Sentences

"The new fossil shows almost none of what we expected," said Dan Marke, who led the study as part of his MSc in Palaeobiology at Bristol.

From Science Daily

These fossils provided crucial pieces needed to build a full, fleshy profile of the animal.

From Science Daily

Thanks to newly discovered fossil bones, scientists have now been able to match an enigmatic 3.4-million-year-old hominin foot, first found in 2009, to a species that is different from the famous fossil Lucy.

From Science Daily

Despite heavy investment in the renewable sector, Australia remains heavily dependent on its fossil fuel economy for growth.

From Barron's

It doesn’t require imports of batteries and fossil fuels.

From Barron's

Related Words

• relic
• skeleton
• specimen
• trace