greensand

American  

[green-sand] / ˈgrinˌsænd /

noun

1. a sandstone containing much glauconite, which gives it a greenish hue.

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greensand British  

/ ˈɡriːnˌsænd /

noun

1. an olive-green sandstone consisting mainly of quartz and glauconite

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Etymology

Origin of greensand

First recorded in 1790–1800; green + sand

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

greensand

Pockets of chalk, clay and greensand encourage an exuberant spread of botanical life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 11, 2026

Between the chalk and the gault clay is a very narrow band of upper greensand, only occasionally noticeable in the southern range, but strongly marked in the North Downs.

From Seaward Sussex The South Downs from End to End by Holmes, Edric

At present there is no evidence that greensand casts are ever formed at great depths; nor has it been proved that Glauconite is decomposable by the agency of water and carbonic acid.

From Discourses Biological and Geological Essays by Huxley, Thomas Henry

Glauconite, glaw′kō-nīt, n. the mineral, a silicate of iron, which gives a green colour to some of the beds of the greensand strata, whence their name.—adj.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

That it is by them is shown by the stone used, which is greensand and not the Caen stone of later-Norman workmen, and by differences in working.

From Bell's Cathedrals: The Cathedral Church of Rochester A Description of its Fabric and a Brief History of the Episcopal See by Palmer, G. H. (George Henry)