fossilize

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to become a fossil, or to preserve an organism or trace as a fossil

   Hard shells are more likely than soft tissue to fossilize in sediment.

2. 2
   verb

   figurative: to make an idea, system, or person rigid and resistant to change

   The committee feared that inflexible rules would fossilize the organization.

Formed in English from fossil + -ize. Fossil came through French from Latin fossilis ("dug up"), from fodere ("to dig"). The figurative sense extends physical preservation into rigidity and resistance to change.

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