mafic
Americanadjective
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Relating to an igneous rock that contains a group of dark-colored minerals, composed chiefly of magnesium and iron.
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Compare felsic
Etymology
Origin of mafic
1910–15; ma(gnesium) + Latin f ( errum ) iron + -ic
Compare meaning
How does mafic compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Composite volcanoes are normally associated with subduction, and while their magma tends to be intermediate on average, it can range all the way from felsic to mafic.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
This area includes Canada’s most recent volcanic eruption, a cinder cone and mafic lava flow that formed around 250 years ago at the Tseax River Cone in the Nass River area north of Terrace.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
Explain why nickel deposits are associated only with mafic magma and not with intermediate or felsic magma?
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
St. Helens imply that the magma chamber is zoned, from more felsic at the top to more mafic at the bottom.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
Most shield volcanoes are associated with mantle plumes, and have consistently mafic magma which generally erupts as lava flows.
From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
