word of the day

Thanks to Graham, I learned a new word today (or perhaps relearned a forgotten one):

os·si·fy (ŏs'ə-fī') Pronunciation Key
v. os·si·fied, os·si·fy·ing, os·si·fies

v. intr.

1. To change into bone; become bony.
2. To become set in a rigidly conventional pattern: "The central ideas of liberalism have ossified" (Jeffrey Hart).


v. tr.

1. To convert (a membrane or cartilage, for example) into bone.
2. To mold into a rigidly conventional pattern.