Fossil Meaning
/ˈfɒsl̩/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe mineralized remains of an animal or plant.
nounAny preserved evidence of ancient life, including shells, imprints, burrows, coprolites, and organically-produced chemicals.
Sentence Examples
Fossil fuels won't be available forever.
Fossil fuel prices shot through the roof.
Scientists are working on highly advanced technology to replace fossil fuels.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Scientists found a dinosaur ____ in the ancient rock layers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The archaeologists discovered a rare ____ that provided new clues about the dinosaurs' diet.
Word Origin & History
From French fossile, from Latin fossilis (“something which has been dug up”), from fodio (“to dig up”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"With the permission of the Keeper of the fossil collection, therefore, the specimen was subjected to a further careful removal of the matrix in the requisite directions."
— 1870, T. H. Huxley, “On Hypsilophodon Foxii, a new Dinosaurian from the Wealden of the Isle of Wight”, in Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London, volume 26, page 9:
"Within the Hepaticae two types of fossils can be distinguished: those with sufficient characters to assign them to an order and those with more obscure characters."
— 1987, Cora Oostendorp, The Bryophytes of the Palaeozoic and the Mesozoic (Bryophytorum Bibliotheca; 34), Berlin, Stuttgart: J. Cramer, page 9:
"He draws eclectically on studies of baboons, descriptive anthropological accounts of hunter-gatherer societies and, in a few cases, the fossil record."
— 2012 March-April, John T. Jost, “Social Justice: Is It in Our Nature (and Our Future)?”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, archived from the original on 13 Feb 2012, page 162:
"You know what, we’ve got a limited number of heartbeats in this world so if you’re only truly happy researching fossils and can make it work for you, you go for it."
— 2016 November 9, Mark Carnall, “Is palaeontology a waste of public money?”, in The Guardian:
"I do not want to convey any disrespectful notion or slight when I call those good and learned men fossils, but my experience is that people are apt to fossilise even at a University if they follow the same paths too persistently."
— 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Scientists found a dinosaur ____ in the ancient rock layers.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The archaeologists discovered a rare ____ that provided new clues about the dinosaurs' diet.