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foliation

American  
[foh-lee-ay-shuhn] / ˌfoʊ liˈeɪ ʃən /

noun

  1. the act or process of putting forth leaves.

  2. the state of being in leaf.

  3. Botany.

    1. the arrangement of leaves within a bud.

    2. the arrangement of leaves on a plant.

  4. leaves or foliage.

  5. Printing. the consecutive numbering of the folios or leaves, as distinguished from pages, of a manuscript or book.

  6. the total number of such leaves.

  7. Petrology. a form of lamination produced in rocks by metamorphism.

  8. ornamentation with foliage, or an arrangement of foliage.

  9. Architecture.

    1. ornamentation with foils.

    2. ornamentation with representations of foliage.

  10. formation into thin sheets.

  11. the application of foil to glass to make a mirror.


foliation British  
/ ˌfəʊlɪˈeɪʃən /

noun

  1. botany

    1. the process of producing leaves

    2. the state of being in leaf

    3. the arrangement of leaves in a leaf bud; vernation

  2. architect

    1. ornamentation consisting of foliage

    2. ornamentation consisting of cusps and foils

  3. any decoration with foliage

  4. the consecutive numbering of the leaves of a book

  5. geology the arrangement of the constituents of a rock in leaflike layers, as in schists

"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

foliation Scientific  
/ fō′lē-ā′shən /
  1. The set of layers visible in many metamorphic rocks as a result of the flattening and stretching of mineral grains during metamorphism.


Other Word Forms


Etymology

Origin of foliation

First recorded in 1615–25; foliate + -ion


Vocabulary lists containing foliation

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

If they lie on a plane with mica, but with no common or preferred direction, this is foliation.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017

Linear crystals, such as hornblende, tourmaline, or stretched quartz grains, can be arranged as part of a foliation, a lineation, or foliation/lineation together.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017

Schistosity is a textural description of foliation created by the parallel alignment of platy visible grains.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2017

If the country rock has no bedding or foliation, then any tabular body within it is a dyke.

From Textbooks ● Jan. 1, 2015

The texture becomes more coarsely crystalline, and the segregation of the constituent minerals more definite along the lines of foliation.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 6 "Geodesy" to "Geometry" by Various

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