anatexis

American

[an-uh-tek-sis] / ˌæn əˈtɛk sɪs /

noun

Geology.

the process by which igneous rock remelts into magma.

anatexis British

/ ˈænəˌtɛksɪs /

noun

geology the partial melting of rocks, esp in the formation of metamorphic rocks

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

anatexes

plural

Etymology

Origin of anatexis

< New Latin < Greek anátēxis a melting, equivalent to anatḗk ( ein ) to melt down ( ana- ana- + tḗkein to thaw) + -sis -sis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023