ossiferous

[ o-sif-er-uh s ]

/ ɒˈsɪf ər əs /

adjective

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

Nearby words

ossiculectomy, ossiculotomy, ossiculum, ossie, ossietzky, ossiferous, ossific, ossification, ossified, ossifrage, ossify

Origin of ossiferous

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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ossiferous

The ossiferous breccia differs from the bone-caves only in form.
The World Before the Deluge|Louis Figuier
This bed was covered with "made ground" of an ossiferous and vegetable character.
Primitive Man|Louis Figuier
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
Lying beneath this ossiferous sand, were several flint axes of human workmanship.
A Manual of the Antiquity of Man|J. P. MacLean

And to the pre-glacial era that geologist referred most of the ossiferous caves and fissures.
Prehistoric Man|W. L. H. Duckworth

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

ossiferous

adjective

Nearby words

Origin of ossiferous

Examples from the Web for ossiferous

British Dictionary definitions for ossiferous

ossiferous

adjective

Medicine definitions for ossiferous

ossiferous

adj.