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fos•sil•ize

Pronunciation: (fos'u-līz"), [key]
—v., -ized, -iz•ing.

—v.t.
1. Geol.to convert into a fossil; replace organic with mineral substances in the remains of an organism.
2. to change as if into mere lifeless remains or traces of the past.
3. to make rigidly antiquated: Time has fossilized such methods.

—v.i.
1. to become a fossil or fossillike: The plant fossilized in comparatively recent geologic time.
2. Ling.(of a linguistic form, feature, rule, etc.) to become permanently established in the interlanguage of a second-language learner in a form that is deviant from the target-language norm and that continues to appear in performance regardless of further exposure to the target language. Also, esp. Brit.,fos'sil•ise".

fossiliferous

fossor

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fossilize (Thesaurus)

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fos•sil•ize

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