A.Word.A.Day --coprolite

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Jul 8, 2008

This week's theme
Words made using combining forms

This week's words
orthography
coprolite
iatrogenic
misoneism
callipygian

A coprolite of a carnivorous dinosaur, found in Saskatchewan, Canada. (actual size: about 1 foot)

Photo: US Geological Survey

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A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

coprolite

PRONUNCIATION:

(KOP-ruh-lyte)

MEANING:

noun: Fossilized excrement.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Greek kopro- (dung) + -lite (stone), from lithos (stone).

USAGE:

"Visitors to the centre can see genuine mineralised Viking excrement on permanent display. The coprolite was discovered in 1972."
Unusual 'Display'; Scunthorpe Evening Telegraph (UK); Jun 19, 2008.

See more usage examples of coprolite in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

You can tell the ideals of a nation by its advertisements. -Norman Douglas, novelist (1868-1952)

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