lebendes Fossil

[ˌleːbn̩dəs fɔˈsiːl]

/[ˌleːbn̩dəs fɔˈsiːl]/ phrase

The verdict

“lebendes Fossil” is outside the top-ranked German vocabulary, used as a phrase - the kind of word writers most often double-check.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
15
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) — (Vertreter einer) rezenten Art oder Artengruppe, die in (zumindest) morphologisch gleicher oder ähnlicher Form bereits vor Jahrmillionen existierte

Key facts for lebendes Fossil
PropertyValue
Headwordlebendes Fossil
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPhrase
IPA[ˌleːbn̩dəs fɔˈsiːl]
Letters15
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “lebendes Fossil” sits in German frequency

lebendes Fossil falls outside the top-100,000 ranked German words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The German entry for lebendes Fossil is 15 letters long, classified as a phrase, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as [ˌleːbn̩dəs fɔˈsiːl]. It sits outside the most-frequent rank tiers, which is often why uncommon words generate more spelling variants per reader. The dominant gloss from Wiktionary reads: "(Vertreter einer) rezenten Art oder Artengruppe, die in (zumindest) morphologisch gleicher oder ähnlicher Form bereits vor Jahrmillionen existierte".

No misspelling variants are generated for lebendes Fossil in our index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable German patterns. It is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, which tends to mean the word is visually distinctive enough to stand on its own.

No explicit etymology string is stored for this entry, so spelling patterns must be inferred from the word's phoneme-to-grapheme mapping rather than from a documented borrowing chain. For readers arriving here from a spelling check, the authoritative guidance is: the correct German form is lebendes Fossil, spelled L-E-B-E-N-D-E-S- -F-O-S-S-I-L, and any other sequence of those letters, regardless of how natural it feels, is a misspelling in standard orthography.

Definition

  1. 1
    (Vertreter einer) rezenten Art oder Artengruppe, die in (zumindest) morphologisch gleicher oder ähnlicher Form bereits vor Jahrmillionen existierte

Synonyms

DauerformDauertypKonservativistRelikt

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Cite this page

Free to reuse with attribution (CC BY-SA). Copy the citation:

PlainSpell, “lebendes Fossil, German word data” (May 6, 2026). Derived from Wiktionary (kaikki.org, CC BY-SA) and an open word-frequency list. https://plainspell.com/de/wort/lebendes-fossil

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "lebendes Fossil"?
"lebendes Fossil" is spelled L-E-B-E-N-D-E-S- -F-O-S-S-I-L. The IPA pronunciation is [ˌleːbn̩dəs fɔˈsiːl].
What does "lebendes Fossil" mean?
As a phrase, "lebendes Fossil" means: (Vertreter einer) rezenten Art oder Artengruppe, die in (zumindest) morphologisch gleicher oder ähnlicher Form bereits vor Jahrmillionen existierte
How do you pronounce "lebendes Fossil"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "lebendes Fossil" is [ˌleːbn̩dəs fɔˈsiːl]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "lebendes Fossil" come from?
"lebendes Fossil" is a German word. PlainSpell covers definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “lebendes Fossil”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is L-E-B-E-N-D-E-S- -F-O-S-S-I-L - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [ˌleːbn̩dəs fɔˈsiːl] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words

Nearby German words

Other entries that begin with the letter L in our German index:

Explore PlainSpell

Data Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list