fossiliferous

[ fos-uh-lif-er-uhs ]

adjective
  1. bearing or containing fossils, as rocks or strata.

Origin of fossiliferous

1
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

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How to use fossiliferous in a sentence

  • Somebody has styled fossiliferous rocks 'monuments of the felicity of past ages.'

  • 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
  1. (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