kimberlite

[kim-ber-lahyt]

noun

Petrology. a variety of micaceous peridotite, low in silica content and high in magnesium content, in which diamonds are formed.

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for kimberlite

Historical Examples of kimberlite

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

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

kimberlite in Science

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.