ossiferous

[ o-sif-er-uhs ]

/ ɒˈsɪf ər əs /

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adjective

containing bones, especially fossil bones: ossiferous caves and rock beds.

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Origin of ossiferous

1815–25; <Latin ossi- (combining form of os) bone + -ferous

Words nearby ossiferous

Ossian, Ossianic, ossicle, Ossie, Ossietzky, ossiferous, ossification, ossified, ossifrage, ossify, Ossining

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

How to use ossiferous in a sentence

These ossiferous remains are richest in the province of Buenos Aires and become somewhat less frequent in the north and west.
Argentina|W. A. Hirst
And to the pre-glacial era that geologist referred most of the ossiferous caves and fissures.
Prehistoric Man|W. L. H. Duckworth
Lying beneath this ossiferous sand, were several flint axes of human workmanship.
A Manual of the Antiquity of Man|J. P. MacLean
Next he took up the exploration of ossiferous caves; and he began this work with that of Brixham, in Windmill Hill.
Cornish Characters|S. Baring-Gould

This bed was covered with "made ground" of an ossiferous and vegetable character.
Primitive Man|Louis Figuier

British Dictionary definitions for ossiferous

ossiferous

/ (ɒˈsɪfərəs) /

adjective

geology containing or yielding bonesossiferous caves

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