glauconite

American  

[glaw-kuh-nahyt] / ˈglɔ kəˌnaɪt /

noun

1. a greenish micaceous mineral consisting essentially of a hydrous silicate of potassium, aluminum, and iron and occurring in greensand, clays, etc.

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glauconite British  

/ ˈɡlɔːkəˌnaɪt, ˌɡlɔːkəˈnɪtɪk /

noun

1. a green mineral consisting of the hydrated silicate of iron, potassium, aluminium, and magnesium: found in greensand and other similar rocks. Formula: (K,Na,Ca) 0.5-1 (Fe,Al,Mg) 2 (Si,Al) 4 O 10 (OH) 2 .nH 2 O

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Other Word Forms

• glauconitic adjective

Etymology

Origin of glauconite

1830–40; < Greek glaukón, neuter of glaukós ( glauco- ) + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

Less than a half-hour from Philadelphia, the Edelman, which opened March 29, takes full advantage of its site, once a sea teeming with marine creatures and, more recently, a glauconite quarry.

From The Wall Street Journal

It has been suggested that certain deposits of iron ores may owe their origin to deposits of glauconite, as for example those of the Mesabi range, Minnesota, U.S.A.

From Project Gutenberg

The term was introduced by the early English geologists for certain sandy rocks which frequently exhibited a greenish colour on account of the presence of minute grains of the green mineral glauconite.

From Project Gutenberg

The green colour, on close inspection, is seen to be due to the presence of innumerable small green grains of a mineral called glauconite.

From Project Gutenberg

Similar bodies are found in the lower part of the Siluro-Cambrian, in the Quebec group at Point Levis; and there they are filled with a species of glauconite constituting a sort of greensand rock.

From Project Gutenberg