oolite

[oh-uh-lahyt]

noun Geology.

a limestone composed of minute rounded concretions resembling fish roe, in some places altered to ironstone by replacement with iron oxide.

Origin of oolite

1775–85; (< French oölithe) < New Latin oölithēs. See oo-, -lite

Also called egg stone.

Related formso·o·lit·ic

[oh-uh-lit-ik] /ˌoʊ əˈlɪt ɪk/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for oolite

Historical Examples of oolite

The flora of the Oolite was peculiarly a flora of intermediate forms.
The Testimony of the Rocks
Hugh Miller
This is an excellent variety of oolite of light cream color.
The House of the Lord
James E. Talmage
It commences in the oolite, and terminates in the next formation.
Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation
Robert Chambers
The Plaine, resting on oolite limestone, is treeless but fertile.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 3
Various
These were shown to be as old at least as the oolite and lias.
A Manual of Elementary Geology
Charles Lyell.

British Dictionary definitions for oolite

oolite

noun

any sedimentary rock, esp limestone, consisting of tiny spherical concentric grains within a fine matrix

Derived Formsoolitic (ˌəʊəˈlɪtɪk), adjective

Word Origin for oolite

C18: from French from New Latin oolitēs, literally: egg stone; probably a translation of German Rogenstein roe stone

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

Word Origin and History for oolite

"rock consisting of fine grains of carbonate of lime," 1785, from Modern Latin oolites, from oo-, comb. form of Greek oon "egg" (cognate with Old English æg, see egg (n.)) + lithos "stone" (see litho-). So called because the rock resembles the roe of fish.

oolite in Science

oolite

[ō′ə-līt′]

A sedimentary rock consisting of ooliths that are cemented together by calcium carbonate.