From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Petrifaction \Pet'ri*fac"tion\, noun [See {Petrify}.]
1. The process of petrifying, or changing into stone; conversion of any organic matter (animal or vegetable) into stone, or a substance of stony hardness.
2. The state or condition of being petrified.
3. That which is petrified; popularly, a body incrusted with stony matter; an incrustation.
4. Fig.: Hardness; callousness; obduracy. ''Petrifaction of the soul.'' --Cudworth.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: the process of turning some plant material into stone by infiltration with water carrying mineral particles without changing the original shape [syn: {petrification}]
2: a rock created by petrifaction; an organic object infiltrated with mineral matter and preserved in its original form
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