Where does “microfossil” come from?

microfossil (English) comes from English fossil, from French fossile, from Latin fossilis, from Latin fossa, from Latin fodiō, from Proto-Indo-European bʰod- — to pierce, dig.

microfossil (English): a microscopic fossil

Definitions

  1. a microscopic fossil

Ancestry of “microfossil”, step by step

microfossil traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via English fossil

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishfossilThe mineralized remains of an animal or plant;...
2Frenchfossilefossil
3LatinfossilisRetrieved from the earth, dug out, dug up,...
4Latinfossaditch, trench, moat; gutter, waterway; grave
5Latinfodiōto dig, dig up, dig out; to bury; to dig or clear out the earth from a place; to mine, quarry
6Proto-Indo-Europeanbʰod-to pierce, dig

via Catalan fòssil

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Catalanfòssilfossil
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰod-Every word from Latin fodiōEvery word from Latin fossa
microfossil — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer