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FOSSIL
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
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
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)
Hypernyms ("fossil" is a kind of...):
remains (any object that is left unused or still extant)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "fossil"):
fucoid (a fossilized cast or impression of algae of the order Fucales)
belemnite (a conical calcareous fossil tapering to a point at one end and with a conical cavity at the other end containing (when unbroken) a small chambered phragmocone from the shell of any of numerous extinct cephalopods of the family Belemnitidae)
ammonite; ammonoid (one of the coiled chambered fossil shells of extinct mollusks)
guide fossil; index fossil (a fossil known to have lived in a particular geologic age that can be used to date the rock layer in which it is found)
microfossil (a fossil that must be studied microscopically)
wormcast (fossil trail of a worm)
Derivation:
fossilist (a specialist in paleontology)
fossilize (convert to a fossil)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Someone whose style is out of fashion
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("fossil" is a kind of...):
golden ager; old person; oldster; senior citizen (an elderly person)
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Characteristic of a fossil
Classified under:
Relational adjectives (pertainyms)
Pertainym:
fossil (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)
Context examples:
Bubbles found in ice cores are one example of fossil air that records the atmospheric composition of the atmosphere at the time the ice was formed.
(Fossil air, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)
It says other measures for reducing the toxic impact of air pollution include moving away from fossil fuels.
(WAir Pollution a Health Risk for Children, Lisa Schlein/VOA)
Some of the world's most exquisite fossil beds were formed millions of years ago during time periods when Earth's oceans were largely without oxygen.
(Fossils may need air to form, National Science Foundation)
Dibenzo[a,e]pyrene is primarily found in coal gasification products, cigarette smoke and fossil fuels.
(Dibenzo (a,l) pyrene, NCI Thesaurus)
It is ubiquitous in the environment as a product of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels.
(Anthracene, NCI Thesaurus)
TRAP comes from the combustion of fossil fuels by motor vehicles.
(Pregnancy hypertension risk increased by traffic-related air pollution, National Institutes of Health)
Dibenzo[a,e]pyrene is primarily found in gasoline exhaust, tobacco smoke and fossil fuels.
(Dibenzo[a,e]pyrene, NCI Thesaurus)
Capricorn rules historical material, such as estate jewelry, landmark buildings, historical autographs, fossils, and other valuable items saved or unearthed from the past.
(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)
The skeletons of planktonic foraminifers are preserved in large numbers in deep-sea sediments, providing a rich fossil record of the environmental conditions of the upper ocean.
(Planktonic Foraminifera, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)
The skeletons of benthic foraminifers are often preserved in ocean sediments, providing a rich fossil record of the environmental conditions of the lake.
(Benthic Foraminifera, NOAA Paleoclimate Glossary)
