argillite

American  

[ahr-juh-lahyt] / ˈɑr dʒəˌlaɪt /

noun

1. any compact sedimentary rock composed mainly of clay materials; clay stone.

---

argillite British  

/ ˈɑːdʒɪˌlaɪt, ˌɑːdʒɪˈlɪtɪk /

noun

1. any argillaceous rock, esp a hardened mudstone

---

argillite Scientific  

/ är′jə-līt′ /

1. A highly compacted sedimentary or slightly metamorphic rock consisting primarily of particles of clay or silt. Argillite differs from mudstone in that it does not have the same fine laminations, and from shale and slate in that it is not fissile.

---

Other Word Forms

• argillitic adjective

Etymology

Origin of argillite

1785–95; < Latin argill ( a ) argil + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

Winding paths of decomposed granite descend into the garden, where loosely arranged vertical slabs of argillite rock — a “living wall” — create pockets for vegetation to grow and animals to inhabit.

From Los Angeles Times

Their Wall Street curled out of sight into a jumbled black terminus of precariously perched argillite boulders and other worthless rock till feeding the McKinley River.

From The Guardian

The stone floor in the dining room includes argillite, imprinted with ripples carved by the sea that covered Glacier one and a half billion years ago.

From Washington Times

France plans to start storing waste underground from 2025 at Bure, in a remote and picturesque part of eastern France, chosen for its thick layers of argillite rock and low population density.

From Scientific American

Across the water rises Sinopah Mountain, while to the north sweep upward the gray-green slopes of Rising Wolf to terminate in purple-red argillites and snow banks.

From Project Gutenberg