fossil

plural fossils

1. The mineralized remains of an animal or plant.

   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

   1 more example

   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

2. biologyAny preserved evidence of ancient life, including shells, imprints, burrows, coprolites, and organically-produced chemicals.

   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

   1 more example

   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

3. human sciencesA fossil word.
4. figurativelyAnything extremely old, extinct, or outdated.
5. derogatoryfigurativelyAn extremely old or outdated person.

   All at once there was a tapping at the window pane. Atherton was staring at us from without. He shouted through the glass, ‘Come out of that, you fossils! — I’ve news for you!’

   1897, Richard Marsh, The Beetle

   2 more examples

   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

   “[…] What have you done with your old fossil?” “M. Poirot has gone to Paris,” I replied coldly. “And I can tell you, M. Giraud, that he is anything but an old fossil. He has solved many cases that have completely baffled the English police.”

   1923, Agatha Christie, The Murder on the Links

6. InternetcolloquialA piece of content, which, despite its age, is being repromoted to a large volume of users by the algorithm.

1. A small city, the county seat of Wheeler County, Oregon, United States.