fossiliferous

[fos-uh-lif-er-uh s]

adjective

bearing or containing fossils, as rocks or strata.

Origin of fossiliferous

First recorded in 1840–50; fossil + -i- + -ferous

Related formsnon·fos·sil·if·er·ous, adjectiveun·fos·sil·if·er·ous, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for fossiliferous

Historical Examples of fossiliferous

The abnormal character of much of the fossiliferous deposits.
Illogical Geology
George McCready Price
Some kinds of deposits are more often fossiliferous than others.
The Principles of Stratigraphical Geology
J. E. Marr
The Metamorphic strata, why less calcareous than the fossiliferous.
A Manual of Elementary Geology
Charles Lyell.
It is fossiliferous, one of the commonest of its shells being the Terebratula.
Hertfordshire
Herbert W Tompkins
They have yet another and fourth title, which is, Fossiliferous Rocks.
Young Folks' Library, Volume XI (of 20)
Various

British Dictionary definitions for fossiliferous

fossiliferous

adjective

(of sedimentary rocks) containing fossils

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for fossiliferous

adj.

by 1830, from fossil + -ferous "producing, containing," from ferre "to bear" (see infer).