felsite

American  

[fel-sahyt] / ˈfɛl saɪt /

noun

1. a dense, fine-grained, igneous rock consisting typically of feldspar and quartz, both of which may appear as phenocrysts.

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felsite British  

/ fɛlˈsɪtɪk, ˈfɛlsaɪt, ˈfɛlˌstəʊn /

noun

1. any fine-grained igneous rock consisting essentially of quartz and feldspar

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felsite Scientific  

/ fĕl′sīt′ /

1. A fine-grained, light-colored igneous rock, consisting mainly of feldspar and quartz.

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Other Word Forms

• felsitic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of felsite

First recorded in 1785–95; fels(par) + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

From this place to the mines the rocks were soft decomposing dolerites, with many harder bands of felsite, and, occasionally, plains composed of more recent trachytic lavas.

From The Naturalist in Nicaragua by Belt, Thomas

The blocks were lava and hard felsite, measuring one and a half to three feet.

From Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2) A Record of Five Years' Exploration Among the Tribes of the Western Sierra Madre; In the Tierra Caliente of Tepic and Jalisco; and Among the Tarascos of Michoacan by Lumholtz, Carl

The building material here is a close-grained felsite, and huge fragments of it have been used in the construction of the parapets.

From Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2) A Record of Five Years' Exploration Among the Tribes of the Western Sierra Madre; In the Tierra Caliente of Tepic and Jalisco; and Among the Tarascos of Michoacan by Lumholtz, Carl

Felspar in Colorado and felsite magnesian slate in Newfoundland carry gold.

From The Romance of Industry and Invention by Cochrane, Robert

Other hard rocks such as chert, quartzite, felsite, granite, sandstone and volcanic rocks very frequently are largely represented in gravels, while coal, limestone and shale are far less common.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 4 "Grasshopper" to "Greek Language" by Various