fossil

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fos·sil / ˈfäsəl/ • n. the remains or impression of a prehistoric organism preserved in petrified form or as a mold or cast in rock. ∎ derog. or humorous an antiquated or stubbornly unchanging person or thing: he can be a cantankerous old fossil at times. ∎  a word or phrase that has become obsolete except in set phrases or forms, e.g., hue in hue and cry.ORIGIN: mid 16th cent. (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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