petrify

petrified tree Kirstenbosch Cape Town

Meaning

Verb

  • To harden organic matter by permeating with water and depositing dissolved minerals.
  • To produce rigidity akin to stone.
  • To immobilize with fright.
  • To become stone, or of a stony hardness, as organic matter by calcareous deposits.
  • To become stony, callous, or obdurate.
  • To make callous or obdurate; to stupefy; to paralyze; to transform; as by petrification.

Origin

  • From Middle French pĂ©trifier, from Medieval Latin petrificare, from Latin petra + -ficare from facere.

Modern English dictionary

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