Where does “fossils” come from?
Fossils comes from French fossile, from Latin fossilis meaning "dug up," derived from fossa meaning "ditch," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European bʰod- meaning "to dig."
fossils (English): plural of fossil
Ancestry of “fossils”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | English | fossil | The mineralized remains of an animal or plant;... |
| 2 | French | fossile | fossil |
| 3 | Latin | fossilis | Retrieved from the earth, dug out, dug up,... |
| 4 | Latin | fossa | ditch, trench, moat; gutter, waterway; grave |
| 5 | Latin | fodiō | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰod- | to pierce, dig |