Definition
A fossilized term is a word or root that occurs only as an archaic expression.
Discussion
A fossilized term is often an idiom or part of an idiom.
Examples
(English)
- fro in to and fro
- cob- in cobweb, from archaic cop, meaning ‘spider’
Sources 3
- Mish 1991, 487
- Crystal 1985, 127
- Wood 1986, 63