fossiliferous

[ fos-uh-lif-er-uhs ]

/ ˌfɒs əˈlɪf ər əs /

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adjective

bearing or containing fossils, as rocks or strata.

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Origin of fossiliferous

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

OTHER WORDS FROM fossiliferous

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

Words nearby fossiliferous

fossil, fossil energy, fossil fuel, fossil fuels, fossil gum, fossiliferous, fossilize, fossil record, fossor, fossorial, fossula

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

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