| fossil | 1. Dug out of the eart; as, fossil coal; fossil salt. 2. <paleontology> Like or pertaining to fossils; contained in rocks. Whether petrified or not; as, fossil plants, shells. Fossil copal, a resinous substance, first found in the blue clay at Highgate, near London, and apparently a vegetable resin, partly changed by remaining in the earth. Fossil cork, flax, paper, or wood, varieties of amianthus. Fossil farina, a soft carbonate of lime. Fossil ore, fossiliferous red hematite. Formerly all minerals were called fossils, but the word is now restricted to express the remains of animals and plants found buried in the earth. 3. <paleontology> The remains of an animal or plant found in stratified rocks. most fossils belong to extinct species, but many of the later ones belong to species still living. 4. A person whose views and opinions are extremely antiquated; one whose sympathies are with a former time rather than with the present. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
|---|---|
| fossil fuel | Solid, liquid, or gaseous fuels formed in the ground after millions of years by chemical and physical changes in plant and animal residues under high temperature and pressure. Oil, natural gas, and coal are fossil fuels. (05 Dec 1998) |
| fossil fuels | Any hydrocarbon deposit that may be used for fuel. Examples are petroleum, coal, and natural gas. (12 Dec 1998) |
| fossiliferous | <paleontology> Containing or composed of fossils. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| fossilification | The process of becoming fossil. Origin: Fossil + L. Facere = to make. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| fossilism | 1. The science or state of fossils. 2. The state of being extremely antiquated in views and opinions. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| fossilist | One who is versed in the science of fossils; a paleontologist. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| fossilization | The process of converting, or of being converted, into a fossil. Origin: Cf. F. Fossilisation. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| fossilize | 1. To convert into a fossil; to petrify; as, to fossilize bones or wood. 2. To cause to become antiquated, rigid, or fixed, as by fossilization; to mummify; to deaden. "Ten layers of birthdays on a woman's head Are apt to fossilize her girlish mirth." (Mrs. Browning) Origin: Cf. F. Fossiliser. 1. To become fossil. 2. To become antiquated, rigid, or fixed, beyond the influence of change or progress. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| fossilized | Converted into a fossil; antiquated; firmly fixed in views or opinions. "A fossilized sample of confused provincialism." (Earle) Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998) |
| fossils | Remains, impressions, or traces of animals or plants of past geological times which have been preserved in the earth's crust. (12 Dec 1998) |