fossiliferous

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

adjective

bearing or containing fossils, as rocks or strata.

Nearby words

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

The fossiliferous beds occur a few hundred yards below the dwelling-house of Rose Farm.
The Cruise of the Betsey|Hugh Miller
This fossil-bearing set of strata he first styled the “fossiliferous greywacke series,” changing it in 1835 to “Silurian system.”
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 1|Various
They traverse all kinds of rocks, both hypogene and fossiliferous, and extend downwards to indefinite or unknown depths.
A Manual of Elementary Geology|Charles Lyell.
To the south of the Downs there is a narrow valley formed by the Gault, a fossiliferous blue clay.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 15, Slice 7|Various

To the geologist the fossiliferous limestones and the metamorphic rocks are alike of interest.
The Sunny Side of Ireland|John O'Mahony and R. Lloyd Praeger

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

fossiliferous

adj.

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