Describing rocks formed from layers of sediment that have been compressed and cemented together over long periods of time. These rocks often contain fossils and show distinct layering patterns that reveal Earth's history.
From Latin 'sedimentum' meaning settling or sinking to the bottom, from 'sedere' meaning to sit. The geological term emerged in the 1830s as scientists recognized how particles settling in water bodies could eventually form solid rock through pressure and time.
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