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单词 fossil
释义

Definition of fossil in English:

fossil

noun ˈfɒs(ə)lˈfɒsɪlˈfɑsəl
  • 1The remains or impression of a prehistoric plant or animal embedded in rock and preserved in petrified form.

    sites rich in fossils
    as modifier a fossil fish
    Example sentencesExamples
    • Scientific testing has determined that the oldest dinosaur fossils are hundreds of millions of years old.
    • Two years ago, scientists described 5-million-year-old albatross fossils representing five different species.
    • The decapod fossils are preserved in remarkable detail as molds and as body fossils.
    • During that time new hominid fossils have been discovered in Africa.
    • Very few dinosaur fossils are actually found near this boundary.
    • Consider three separately discovered archaic Homo sapiens fossils dating to around 150,000 years ago.
    • Until recently, however, no sponge body fossils had been identified or described from this fauna.
    • Pasting on a fake smile, I nodded fervently, no longer eager to study silly fossils of dead organisms.
    • Carboniferous and Permian strata often contain useful index fossils belonging to this group.
    • Other marine trace fossils, together with marine bivalves, have been described from the unit as a whole.
    • Most geologists are familiar with the occurrence of plant compression fossils in bedded sedimentary rocks.
    • All of these sites have yielded remarkably preserved Cambrian fossils, in large part due to rapid burial.
    • Li and Ding interpreted such structures as metazoan trace fossils.
    • Almost no dinosaur fossils have been found from that time, particularly in North America.
    • Shallow marine invertebrate fossils occur throughout the formation, but are mainly concentrated in four broad intervals.
    • Then we use the dating of a recently discovered hominid fossil as a calibration point.
    • Marine rocks commonly contain plant fossils but they are outnumbered by more common and spectacular shelly invertebrate fossils.
    • I decided that my own role could be to collect plant fossils for their research and museum collections.
    • There is an abundance of shelly animal fossils.
    • The oldest true vertebrate fossils date back 530 million years.
    Synonyms
    petrified remains, petrified impression, cast, impression, mould, remnant, relic
    Geology reliquiae
    1. 1.1derogatory, humorous A person or thing that is outdated or resistant to change.
      he can be a cantankerous old fossil at times
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Who would take care of that crazy old fossil then?
      • Most of the other scholars were old fossils that seemed so fragile that the slightest breath of wind would keel them over.
      • For those of you who are surprised that a grumpy old fossil like me actually works on a computer, it is all t'Editor's fault.
      Synonyms
      fogey, old fogey, conservative, traditionalist, conventionalist, diehard, conformist, bourgeois, museum piece, dinosaur, troglodyte
    2. 1.2 A word or phrase that has become obsolete except in set phrases or forms, e.g. hue in hue and cry.
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Old words become linguistic fossils as new words replace them in response to events and developments in a rapidly changing world.
      • A plaintiff, therefore, was originally just a person who made a complaint, but the word became a fossil of legal terminology many centuries ago.
      • It has usually been represented in ModE by gh, leaving its silent fossils in such words as dough, night, through, thought, thorough.

Origin

Mid 16th century (denoting a fossilized fish found, and believed to have lived, underground): from French fossile, from Latin fossilis 'dug up', from fodere 'dig'.

  • Fossils are the petrified remains of ancient or prehistoric creatures that are dug up, and fossil comes from Latin fodere ‘to dig’. It was originally used for a fossilized fish which was found in the earth. In those days before the theory of evolution people believed that it had lived underground too. The use of the word for a person or organization seen as outdated or resistant to change is found from the mid 19th century.

Rhymes

apostle, colossal, dossal, glossal, jostle, throstle
 
 

Definition of fossil in US English:

fossil

nounˈfäsəlˈfɑsəl
  • 1The remains or impression of a prehistoric organism preserved in petrified form or as a mold or cast in rock.

    Example sentencesExamples
    • Until recently, however, no sponge body fossils had been identified or described from this fauna.
    • During that time new hominid fossils have been discovered in Africa.
    • Shallow marine invertebrate fossils occur throughout the formation, but are mainly concentrated in four broad intervals.
    • Marine rocks commonly contain plant fossils but they are outnumbered by more common and spectacular shelly invertebrate fossils.
    • Almost no dinosaur fossils have been found from that time, particularly in North America.
    • Scientific testing has determined that the oldest dinosaur fossils are hundreds of millions of years old.
    • Then we use the dating of a recently discovered hominid fossil as a calibration point.
    • Very few dinosaur fossils are actually found near this boundary.
    • Most geologists are familiar with the occurrence of plant compression fossils in bedded sedimentary rocks.
    • There is an abundance of shelly animal fossils.
    • The oldest true vertebrate fossils date back 530 million years.
    • Pasting on a fake smile, I nodded fervently, no longer eager to study silly fossils of dead organisms.
    • Consider three separately discovered archaic Homo sapiens fossils dating to around 150,000 years ago.
    • Li and Ding interpreted such structures as metazoan trace fossils.
    • Two years ago, scientists described 5-million-year-old albatross fossils representing five different species.
    • All of these sites have yielded remarkably preserved Cambrian fossils, in large part due to rapid burial.
    • I decided that my own role could be to collect plant fossils for their research and museum collections.
    • The decapod fossils are preserved in remarkable detail as molds and as body fossils.
    • Other marine trace fossils, together with marine bivalves, have been described from the unit as a whole.
    • Carboniferous and Permian strata often contain useful index fossils belonging to this group.
    Synonyms
    petrified remains, petrified impression, cast, impression, mould, remnant, relic
    1. 1.1humorous, derogatory A person or thing that is outdated or resistant to change.
      he can be a cantankerous old fossil at times
      Example sentencesExamples
      • Most of the other scholars were old fossils that seemed so fragile that the slightest breath of wind would keel them over.
      • Who would take care of that crazy old fossil then?
      • For those of you who are surprised that a grumpy old fossil like me actually works on a computer, it is all t'Editor's fault.
      Synonyms
      fogey, old fogey, conservative, traditionalist, conventionalist, diehard, conformist, bourgeois, museum piece, dinosaur, troglodyte
    2. 1.2 A word or phrase that has become obsolete except in set phrases or forms, e.g. hue in hue and cry.
      Example sentencesExamples
      • It has usually been represented in ModE by gh, leaving its silent fossils in such words as dough, night, through, thought, thorough.
      • A plaintiff, therefore, was originally just a person who made a complaint, but the word became a fossil of legal terminology many centuries ago.
      • Old words become linguistic fossils as new words replace them in response to events and developments in a rapidly changing world.

Origin

Mid 16th century (denoting a fossilized fish found, and believed to have lived, underground): from French fossile, from Latin fossilis ‘dug up’, from fodere ‘dig’.

 
 
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更新时间:2024/11/11 6:00:23