fossilized
English
editAlternative forms
edit- fossilised (UK)
Verb
editfossilized
- simple past and past participle of fossilize
Adjective
editfossilized
- In a state of fossilization; preserved in rock.
- Outmoded.
- (linguistics) Having become a fossil; no longer productive.
- A fossil word in a language is a word which has fallen out of use except for in set phrases: e.g. the English word fro, used only in to and fro. A fossilized bound morpheme (e.g. a fossilized affix) is one which was once able to derive words, but which now only exists as a fixed component of words: e.g. the English abstract noun–forming suffix -th.
Synonyms
edit- (outmoded): antiquated, disused, outdated; see also Thesaurus:obsolete or Thesaurus:unfashionable
Derived terms
editTranslations
editin a state of fossilisation
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