Fossilized Term
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’
See Also:
Source:
This page is an extract from the LinguaLinks Library. Version 5.0 published on CD-ROM by SIL International, 2003.