Fossil
['fɒs(ə)l;-sɪl] or ['fɑsl]
Definition
(noun.) the remains (or an impression) of a plant or animal that existed in a past geological age and that has been excavated from the soil.
(adj.) characteristic of a fossil .
Checked by Laurie--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Dug out of the earth; as, fossil coal; fossil salt.
(a.) Like or pertaining to fossils; contained in rocks, whether petrified or not; as, fossil plants, shells.
(n.) A substance dug from the earth.
(n.) 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.
(n.) A person whose views and opinions are extremely antiquated; one whose sympathies are with a former time rather than with the present.
Editor: Murdoch
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Petrifaction.
Typed by Joan
Definition
n. the petrified remains of an animal or vegetable found embedded in the strata of the earth's crust: anything antiquated.—adj. dug out of the earth: in the condition of a fossil: antiquated.—adj. Fossilif′erous bearing or containing fossils.—n. Fossilificā′tion the act of becoming fossil.—vs.t. Fossil′ify Foss′ilīse to convert into a fossil.—v.i. to be changed into a stony or fossil state.—ns. Fossilisā′tion a changing into a fossil; Foss′ilism the science of fossils; Foss′ilist one skilled in fossils; Fossilol′ogy Fossil′ogy paleontology.
Inputed by Bartholomew
Examples
- Hi, old fossil, cried the man who had first called on him for assistance, did je think we wanted of you to read the bloomin' notis to yourself? Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
- As early as 1747 he had been interested in geology and had seen specimens of the fossil remains of marine shells from th e strata of the highest parts of the Alleghany Mountains. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- Rub the fossil silica to a fine powder and thoroughly mix with the chalk. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- Prepared chalk or whiting can be used instead of fossil silica. William K. David. Secrets of Wise Men, Chemists and Great Physicians.
- Why does not every collection of fossil remains afford plain evidence of the gradation and mutation of the forms of life? Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- Only organic beings of certain classes can be preserved in a fossil condition, at least in any great number. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- I said Damascus was an old fossil, and she is. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Dalton, likewise, in Pander and Dalton's work on Fossil Sloths, expressed, in 1821, a similar belief. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- Mr. Clift many years ago showed that the fossil mammals from the Australian caves were closely allied to the living marsupials of that continent. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- We mean very much the same thing when we refer to Fossil Forests. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Fossil remains sometimes tend to fill up very wide intervals between existing orders. Charles Darwin. On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
- These markings and fossils in the rocks and the rocks themselves are our first historical documents. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- But when we call these rocks and the fossils a record and a history, it must not be supposed that there is any sign of an orderly keeping of a record. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- At any time some new deposit may reveal fossils that will illuminate this question. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- We find fossils in the Eocene of monkeys and lemurs, but of one particular creature we have as yet not a single bone. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- At this period organized fossils first appear. Walter Libby. An Introduction to the History of Science.
- It is all over now; but when I look back, the idea of these venerable fossils skipping forth on a six months' picnic, seems exquisitely refreshing. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
Checker: Lyman