basalt
[buh-sawlt, bas-awlt, bey-sawlt]
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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
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
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 MarriageBenjamin Disraeli
Of such soils, the first to be considered are those of basaltic origin.
Fruits of QueenslandAlbert Benson
No doubt the basaltic mountains once formed the side of the fjord.
Across IcelandWilliam Bisiker
The walls of the outer Alban crater are of peperino, while those of the inner are basaltic.
Old RomeRobert Burn
On its outer edge it is fringed by a border of basaltic rocks.
The World and Its People: Book VIIAnna B. Badlam
basalt
noun
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
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basalt
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
basalt
[bə-sôlt′, bā′sôlt′]
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
basalt
[(buh-sawlt, bay-sawlt)]
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.