[no obj.]turn into bone or bony tissue 骨化 these tracheal cartilages may ossify. 这些气管软骨可能会骨化。 ■[often as adj. ossified](figurative)cease developing; stagnate (喻)停滞;僵化 ossified political institutions. 僵化的政治制度。
派生 ossification noun 语源
early 18th cent.: from French ossifier, from Latin os, oss- 'bone'