PETRIFY

verb (-fied; -fying) Etymology: Middle French petrifier, from petr- + -ifier -ify Date: 1594 transitive verb to convert (organic matter) into stone or a substance of stony hardness by the infiltration of water and the deposition of dissolved mineral matter, to make rigid or inert like stone:, to make lifeless or inactive ; deaden , to confound with fear, amazement, or awe , intransitive verb to become stone or of stony hardness or rigidity