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fossilize
[fos-uh-lahyz]
verb (used with object)
Geology., to convert into a fossil; replace organic with mineral substances in the remains of an organism.
to change as if into mere lifeless remains or traces of the past.
to make rigidly antiquated.
Time has fossilized such methods.
verb (used without object)
to become a fossil or like a fossil.
The plant fossilized in comparatively recent geologic time.
Linguistics., (of a linguistic form, feature, rule, etc.) to become permanently established in the interlanguage of a second-language learner in a form that is deviant from the target-language norm and that continues to appear in performance regardless of further exposure to the target language.
fossilize
/ ˈfɒsɪˌlaɪz /
verb
to convert or be converted into a fossil
to become or cause to become antiquated or inflexible
Other Word Forms
- fossilizable adjective
- fossilization noun
- semifossilized adjective
- unfossilized adjective
Word History and Origins
Origin of fossilize1
Example Sentences
The team examined fossilized teeth from 51 hominids found across Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Researchers examined six fossilized specimens, including pupae and emerging adults, all showing the presence of a terminal disc.
“We have this problem in studying the origins of musicality … Music doesn't fossilize,” said Henkjan Honing, a professor of Music Cognition at the University of Amsterdam.
Researchers in this study also revisited an analysis of fossilized placoid scales, or tiny tooth-like scales that cover sharks, from the megalodon.
The critical clue for Sanei was a naturally occurring material called inertinite, a stable form of organic carbon in Earth’s crust, formed when wildfires char forests and the burned vegetation fossilizes.
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