Each of the lateral parts begins to ossify from a single center during the eighth week of fetal life.
British Dictionary definitions for ossify
ossify
/ˈɒsɪˌfaɪ/
verb -fies, -fying, -fied
1.
to convert or be converted into bone
2.
(intransitive) (of habits, attitudes, etc) to become inflexible
Derived Forms
ossifier, noun
Word Origin
C18: from French ossifier, from Latin os bone + facere to make
Word Origin and History for ossify
v.
1713, "to turn into bone," a back-formation from ossification, or else modeled on French ossifier (18c.) and formed from Latin os (genitive ossis) "bone" (see osseous) + -fy. Figurative sense is from 1858. Related: Ossified; ossifying.
ossify in Medicine
ossify os·si·fy (ŏs'ə-fī') v.os·si·fied, os·si·fy·ing, os·si·fies To change into bone.