Phrase guide

living fossil

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈlɪvɪŋ ˈfɒsl̩/
  • General-American: /ˈlɪvɪŋ ˈfɑsl̩/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any species discovered first as a fossil and believed extinct, but which is later found living; an organism that has remained unchanged over geological periods.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: evolutionary theory

Examples

  • The coelacanth and the dawn redwood are living fossils.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Any living species which very closely resembles fossil relatives in most anatomical details.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: evolutionary theory

Examples

  • Crocodiles are living fossils that haven’t changed their appearance much in millions of years.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

The term was coined by the English biologist, geologist, and naturalist Charles Darwin (1809–1882) in his work On the Origin of Species (1859): see the quotation below.

Across languages

Translations

55 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: lewende fossiel — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Arabic: حفرية حية — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Basque: fosil bizidun — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Belarusian: жывы выкапень (žyvy vykapjenʹ) — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Bulgarian: живи вкаменелости (živi vkamenelosti) — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Catalan: fòssil vivent — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Chinese Cantonese: 活化石 (wut6 faa3 sek6) — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Chinese Mandarin: 活化石 (huóhuàshí) — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Czech: živoucí fosílie — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Dutch: levend fossiel — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Esperanto: vivanta fosilio — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Estonian: elav fossiil — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Finnish: elävä fossiili — species believed extinct but later found living
  • French: fossile vivant — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Georgian: ცოცხალი ნამარხი (cocxali namarxi) — species believed extinct but later found living
  • German: Dauerform — species believed extinct but later found living
  • German: lebendes Fossil — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Hebrew: מאובן חי — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Hindi: जीवित जीवाश्म (jīvit jīvāśma) — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Hungarian: élő kövület — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Indonesian: fosil hidup — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Irish: iontaise bheo — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Italian: fossile vivente — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Japanese: 生きている化石 (ikiteiru kaseki) — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Japanese: 生きた化石 (ikita kaseki) — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Kazakh: тіpі қазындылар (tıpı qazyndylar) — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Korean: 살아 있는 화석 (sara inneun hwaseok) — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Limburgish: laevend fossiel — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Lithuanian: gyvoji fosilija — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Malayalam: സജീവഫോസിൽ (sajīvaphōsil) — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Norwegian Bokmål: levende fossil — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Occitan: fossil vivent — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Persian: فسیل زنده — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Polish: żywa skamieniałość — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Polish: żywa skamielina — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Portuguese: fóssil vivo — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Punjabi: جیوندے پتھری جاندار (jeyonde pthrī jāndār) — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Romanian: fosilă vie — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Russian: живые ископаемые (živyje iskopajemyje) — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Slovak: živé fosílie — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Slovak: žijúce skameneniny — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Slovene: živi fosil — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Spanish: fósil viviente — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Swedish: levande fossil — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Tamil: வாழும் தொல்லுயிர் எச்சம் (vāḻum tolluyir eccam) — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Telugu: సజీవ శిలాజాలు (sajīva śilājālu) — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Thai: ซากดึกดําบรรพ์มีชีวิต — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Turkish: yaşayan fosil — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Ukrainian: живі викопні (žyvi vykopni) — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Vietnamese: hóa thạch sống — species believed extinct but later found living
  • Chinese Cantonese: 活化石 (wut6 faa3 sek6) — living species which very closely resembles fossil relatives
  • Chinese Mandarin: 活化石 (huóhuàshí) — living species which very closely resembles fossil relatives
  • Dutch: levend fossiel — living species which very closely resembles fossil relatives
  • Finnish: elävä fossiili — living species which very closely resembles fossil relatives
  • Georgian: ცოცხალი ნამარხი (cocxali namarxi) — living species which very closely resembles fossil relatives