fossiliferous

[ fos-uh-lif-er-uhs ]

adjective

bearing or containing fossils, as rocks or strata.

Origin of fossiliferous

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

Other words from fossiliferous

non·fos·sil·if·er·ous, adjective
un·fos·sil·if·er·ous, adjective

Words Nearby fossiliferous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fossiliferous in a sentence

Somebody has styled fossiliferous rocks 'monuments of the felicity of past ages.'
The International Monthly, Volume 5, No. 3, March, 1852 | Various
Now, the fossiliferous strata of our globe afford similar proofs of varying climatic and physical conditions.
Geology | James Geikie
The Upper Devonian is less fossiliferous, but contains some large trilobites, various marine shells, and some land-plants.
Devonshire | Francis A. Knight
This survey has developed the older fossiliferous rocks, with a fullness and distinctness unknown elsewhere.
The Uses of Astronomy | Edward Everett
Above is the hard fossiliferous limestone, which is a base-bed in Western Palestine.
Palestine | Claude Reignier Conder

British Dictionary definitions for fossiliferous

fossiliferous

/ (ˌfɒsɪˈlɪfərəs) /

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

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