basalt

[buh-sawlt, bas-awlt, bey-sawlt]

noun

the dark, dense igneous rock of a lava flow or minor intrusion, composed essentially of labradorite and pyroxene and often displaying a columnar structure.

Origin of basalt

1595–1605; < Latin basaltēs, a misreading, in manuscripts of Pliny, of basanītēs < Greek basanī́tēs (líthos) touchstone, equivalent to básan(os) touchstone (ultimately < Egyptian bh̬n(w) graywacke) + -ītēs -ite¹

Related formsba·sal·tic, ba·sal·tine

[buh-sawl-tin, -tahyn] /bəˈsɔl tɪn, -taɪn/, adjectivesub·ba·sal·tic, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for basaltic

Historical Examples of basaltic

They were harnessed to a basaltic car by a single rein of flame.
The Infernal Marriage
Benjamin Disraeli
Of such soils, the first to be considered are those of basaltic origin.
Fruits of Queensland
Albert Benson
No doubt the basaltic mountains once formed the side of the fjord.
Across Iceland
William Bisiker
The walls of the outer Alban crater are of peperino, while those of the inner are basaltic.
Old Rome
Robert Burn
On its outer edge it is fringed by a border of basaltic rocks.
The World and Its People: Book VII
Anna B. Badlam

British Dictionary definitions for basaltic

basalt

noun

a fine-grained dark basic igneous rock consisting of plagioclase feldspar, a pyroxene, and olivine: the most common volcanic rock and usually extrusiveSee flood basalt
a form of black unglazed pottery resembling basalt

Derived Formsbasaltic, adjective

Word Origin for basalt

C18: from Late Latin basaltēs, variant of basanītēs, from Greek basanitēs touchstone, from basanos, of Egyptian origin

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

Word Origin and History for basaltic

basalt

c.1600, from Late Latin basaltes, misspelling of Latin basanites "very hard stone," from Greek basanites "a species of slate used to test gold," from basanos "touchstone." Not connected with salt. Said by Pliny ["Historia," 36.58] to be an African word, perhaps Egyptian bauhan "slate." Any hard, very dark rock would do as a touchstone; the assayer compared the streak left by the alleged gold with that of real gold or baser metals. Hence Greek basanizein "to be put to the test, examined closely, cross-examined, to be put to torture."

basaltic in Science

basalt

[bə-sôlt′, bā′sôlt′]

A dark, fine-grained, igneous rock consisting mostly of plagioclase feldspar and pyroxene, and sometimes olivine. Basalt makes up most of the ocean floor and is the most common type of lava. It sometimes cools into characteristic hexagonal columns, as in the Giant's Causeway in Anterim, Northern Island. It is the fine-grained equivalent of gabbro.

basaltic in Culture

basalt

[(buh-sawlt, bay-sawlt)]

A hard, dense igneous rock that makes up much of the material in tectonic plates. The part of the Earth's crust beneath the oceans consists mainly of basalt whereas continental crust consists mainly of less dense rocks, such as granite. (See plate tectonics.)