fossils

Noun

fossil (plural fossils)

1. The mineralized remains of an animal or plant.
   • 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. Any 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
3. A fossil word.
4. (figuratively) Anything extremely old, extinct, or outdated.
5. (derogatory, figuratively) An extremely old or outdated person.
   • 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
6. (Internet, colloquial) A piece of content, which, despite its age, is being repromoted to a large volume of users by the algorithm.

See all 7 meanings of fossil