It's Mary and Webster's word of the day for August 21st.

Today's word is O'S-I-S-I-S-I-S-F-E-S-T-S-E-S-S-I-F-Y. Ossify is a verb.

In general contexts, something that Ossifies becomes hardened or conventional and opposed to change.

In medical contexts, something that ossifies such as cartilage forms or is transformed

into bone.

Here's the word used in a sentence from the Atlantic. We all probably

need to be better about dealing with the gradual buildup of small annoyances in our

lives before they ossify.

The skeletons of mammals originate as soft cartilage that gradually transforms into hard bone.

In humans the process begins in the womb and continues until late adolescence.

This bone-building process was given the name Ossification in the late 17th century

with the verb Ossify following soon after. The words come from the Latin

root O.S. meaning bone. It's also a synonym of the word bone in scientific contexts. Both terms have come to

refer to figurative types of hardening such as that of the heart or mind. With

your word of the day I'm Peter Sokolowski.

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