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kimberlite

[ kim-ber-lahyt ]
/ ˈkɪm bərˌlaɪt /
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noun
Petrology. a variety of micaceous peridotite, low in silica content and high in magnesium content, in which diamonds are formed.
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Origin of kimberlite

1885–90; named after Kimberley, South Africa; see -ite1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use kimberlite in a sentence

  • The yellow ground was already gone, and the equipment was cutting into the blue kimberlite below.

    The Flaming Mountain|Harold Leland Goodwin
  • The diamonds at Kimberley are found in a blue earth, technically known as kimberlite and commonly called "blue ground."

    An African Adventure|Isaac F. Marcosson
  • "We placed the instruments without difficulty," Balgos began—and Connel's eye caught sight of the kimberlite samples on the table.

    The Flaming Mountain|Harold Leland Goodwin

British Dictionary definitions for kimberlite

kimberlite
/ (ˈkɪmbəˌlaɪt) /

noun
an intrusive igneous rock generated at great depth in the earth's mantle and consisting largely of olivine and phlogopite. It often contains diamonds

Word Origin for kimberlite

C19: from Kimberley + -ite 1
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

Scientific definitions for kimberlite

kimberlite
[ kĭm′bər-līt′ ]

A type of peridotite consisting of a fine-grained matrix of calcite and olivine and containing phenocrysts of olivine, garnet, and sometimes diamonds. Kimberlites are found in long, vertical volcanic pipes, especially in South Africa.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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