Etymologically
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fossile

Etymology and origin of the French word fossile

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Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1556, Le Blanc, translation of Cardano
Borrowed from
Latin fossilis
Ultimate origin
Latin (fodiō)
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French fossile
English fossil

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /fo.sil/[1]
  • IPA: /fɔ.sil/[1]

Forms

fossile m (plural fossiles)[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin fossilis (“dug up”),[2][3][4][5][1][6] probably formed on fossum, the supine of fodiō (“to dig”), the source of fouir and of fosse.[3][5][7][8]

Earliest recorded meaning

Le Blanc's translation of Cardano (1556) uses it as an adjective, “that can be dug out of the earth, mineral”[2][8]; Palissy defines fossiles as mineral matter for which one must dig.[2][8]

Semantic evolution

At first fossile was said of any substance taken from the ground, as sel fossile or charbon fossile, a sense now dated.[3][2][8] From 1713 it named the remains or prints of plants and animals preserved in rock, a key word of the new science of the 18th century, tied to theories of the Flood and the revolutions of the Earth, which became palaeontology in the 19th.[2][3]

Figuratively, from 1827, fossile is old-fashioned, and a person with outdated ideas is un fossile (1833).[2][3][9] Fossiliser and fossilisation are from 1832, fossilifère from 1837.[3] Énergies fossiles are fuels formed from fossil plants, such as coal, oil and gas.[10]

Timeline

  • 1556 – “Dug from the earth, mineral”.[2][4]
  • 1713 – The remains of plants and animals preserved in rock.[2][3]
  • 1718 – First recorded by the Académie.[2]
  • 1827 – “Old-fashioned”.[2][3]
  • 1832 – Fossiliser, fossilisation.[3]
  • 1833 – Un fossile, a person with outdated ideas.[2][9]
  • 1837 – Fossilifère.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A fossil, the remains or print of a plant or animal preserved in rock.[10][1]
  2. (familiar) A person with outdated ideas; an old fogey.[2][8]

Adjective

  1. Fossil, preserved in rock: espèce fossile[10][7]; énergies fossiles, fossil fuels.[10][7]
  2. (figurative) Outdated, antiquated.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  5. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ Wartburg, Walther von, et al. (1922–2002), Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, 25 vols., Bonn / Leipzig / Basel: Klopp / Teubner / Zbinden, p. 3, 741b
  7. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  8. ^ a b c d e f Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette
  9. ^ a b Quemada, Bernard, ed. (1959–2006), Datations et documents lexicographiques (Base historique du vocabulaire français, BHVF), Paris: Klincksieck / CNRS / Champion; ATILF
  10. ^ a b c d Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert

Borrowed into

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Fossile.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/fossile. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

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