A Palaeontological Call to Arms to Save a Word

Inspiration can come from the strangest of places. I was just writing an email to fellow Oxford Palaeontologists asking them to come for a pint in the local pub, the Lamb and Flag, and wasnt sure if I had spelled 'fossily' (as in fossil-like) correctly, or indeed if it was a real word at all.

A quick check on the Oxford English Dictionary website revealed it wasn't a word, so I proceeded to spell it however I liked. I did however discover a palaeo-related word I had never heard before, one that is sadly on the verge of literary extinction. The OED lists it as an 'obselete word'.

fossilry, n. Obs. rare. A collection of fossils.

The OED reveals this brilliant word was mainly used in the mid 18th to mid 19th Centuries;

1755 Gentleman's Mag. Dec. 567/2 Verses occasion'd by seeing the Fossilry at Tenderves in Cornwall.

1865 S. Smiles Lives of Boulton & Watt xvi. 321 One of his favourite amusements was collecting and arranging fossils, some for his friend Wedgwood, and others for his own ‘fossilry’ at Soho

How has such a wonderfully simple word come so close to the chop. It instantly conveys its meaning, and I'm sure would be immediately understandable to the general public.

So Palaeontologists everywhere, I call you to arms. Next time you write that grant proposal, blogpost, thesis chapter or journal article, think about whether you can include the word 'fossilry', and help save a poor helpless word from interminable doom. Besides, the fossil record for words isnt as good as the things we study, so we should try and keep 'fossilry' alive as long as possible!

JJM

Writing from the Oxford Ediacaran Fossilry