A fossil word is a
word that is broadly
obsolete but remains in current use due to its presence within an
idiom,
word sense, or
phrase.[1][2] An example for a word sense is 'ado' in 'much ado'. An example for a phrase is '
in point' (relevant), which is retained in the larger phrases '
case in point' (also 'case on point' in the legal context) and '
in point of fact', but is rarely used outside of a legal context.
deserts, as in "
just deserts", although singular "desert" in the sense of "state of deserving" occurs in nonidiom-specific contexts including law and philosophy. "Dessert" is a French loanword, meaning "removing what has been served," and has only a distant etymological connection.
These words were formed from other languages, by elision, or by mincing of other fixed phrases.
caboodle, as in "
kit and caboodle" (evolved from "kit and boodle", itself a fixed phrase borrowed as a unit from Dutch kitte en boedel)
druthers, as in "
if I had my druthers..." (formed by elision from "would rather"[11] and never occurring outside this phrase to begin with)
tarnation, as in "
what in tarnation...?" (evolved in the context of fixed phrases formed by
mincing of previously fixed phrases that include the term "damnation")
nother, as in "
a whole nother..." (fixed phrase formed by
rebracketinganother as a nother, then inserting whole for emphasis; almost never occurs outside this phrase)
^fossil. Additions Series, 1993 (Second Edition, 1989 ed.).
Oxford English Dictionary. A word or other linguistic form preserved only in isolated regions or in set phrases, idioms, or collocations
^Curme, George Oliver (1931).
Syntax. D. C. Heath and Company.[page needed]