novaculite

American  

[noh-vak-yuh-lahyt] / noʊˈvæk yəˌlaɪt /

noun

Petrology.

1. a very hard sedimentary rock, similar to chert, composed essentially of microcrystalline quartz.

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novaculite British  

/ nəʊˈvækjʊˌlaɪt /

noun

1. a fine-grained dense hard rock containing quartz and feldspar: used as a whetstone

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Etymology

Origin of novaculite

1790–1800; < Latin novācul ( a ) a sharp knife, razor + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

The Quapaw and Caddo peoples lived here for thousands of years, mining the region’s ubiquitous novaculite, a type of flint stone, for weapons.

From Washington Post • Feb. 6, 2020

The finest of the novaculite rocks of central Arkansas are quarried near the city.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 7 "Horticulture" to "Hudson Bay" by Various

Hones, oilstones, and whetstones are produced largely from a rock called "novaculite" in Arkansas, and also in Indiana, Ohio, and New England; imports are negligible.

From The Economic Aspect of Geology by Leith, C. K. (Charles Kenneth)

The novaculite is mentioned as occurring on Washita, as described by Mr. Bringier in the present number.

From Scenes and Andventures in the Semi-Alpine Region of the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas by Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe