granulite

American  

[gran-yuh-lahyt] / ˈgræn yəˌlaɪt /

noun

1. a metamorphic rock composed of granular minerals of uniform size, as quartz, feldspar, or pyroxene, and showing a definite banding.

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granulite British  

/ ˌɡrænjʊˈlɪtɪk, ˈɡrænjʊˌlaɪt /

noun

1. a granular foliated metamorphic rock in which the minerals form a mosaic of equal-sized granules

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granulite Scientific  

/ grăn′yə-līt′ /

1. A fine-grained metamorphic rock consisting of similarly sized, interlocking minerals. Unlike most metamorphic rocks, granulites do not exhibit foliation or textural or mineralogical layering.

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Other Word Forms

• granulitic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of granulite

First recorded in 1840–50; granule + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

The lowest pressure conditions produce hornfels facies, while higher pressure creates greenschist, amphibolite, or granulite facies.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

Graphite occurs mainly in the older crystalline rocks—gneiss, granulite, schist and crystalline limestone—and also sometimes in granite: it is found as isolated scales embedded in these rocks, or as large irregular masses or filling veins.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 3 "Gordon, Lord George" to "Grasses" by Various

The more micaceous varieties form transitions to granulite and gneiss.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 7 "Gyantse" to "Hallel" by Various

The gneiss is uniformly of a species not often met with, studded with garnets, and between its strata are inserted single beds of hornblende-gneiss and splinters of pure hornblende, as also granulite-gneiss and pure granulite.

From Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume I (Commodore B. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,) Undertaken by Order of the Imperial Government in the Years 1857, 1858, & 1859, Under the Immediate Auspices of His I. and R. Highness the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Commander-In-Chief of the Austrian Navy. by Scherzer, Karl Ritter von

Several patches of granite and granulite fringe the western coast, the largest of these is a hornblende granite round Rocquaine Bay.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 5, Slice 7 "Cerargyrite" to "Charing Cross" by Various