pegmatite

[ peg-muh-tahyt ]

nounPetrology.

a coarsely crystalline granite or other high-silica rock occurring in veins or dikes.

Origin of pegmatite

1825–35; <Greek pēgmat- (stem of pêgma) anything fastened together, a bond (compare pēgnýein to stick) + -ite¹

Other words from pegmatite

peg·ma·tit·ic [peg-muh-tit-ik], /ˌpɛg məˈtɪt ɪk/, adjective

Words Nearby pegmatite

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pegmatite in a sentence

Chrysoberyl is known as a constituent of certain kinds of granite, pegmatite and gneiss.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 3 | Various
pegmatite and Porphyry (with a very few small crystals of felspar) and Gneiss?
Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia | Ludwig Leichhardt
I observed pegmatite of a white colour, and hornblende Porphyry and Diorite.
Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia | Ludwig Leichhardt
The hills on which I stood were composed of pegmatite, with patches of white Mica in large leaflets.
Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia | Ludwig Leichhardt
In one of the creeks I observed pegmatite; pebbles of talc-schiste and of white quartz covered the bed of the river.
Journal of an Overland Expedition in Australia | Ludwig Leichhardt

British Dictionary definitions for pegmatite

pegmatite

/ (ˈpɛɡməˌtaɪt) /

noun

any of a class of exceptionally coarse-grained intrusive igneous rocks consisting chiefly of quartz and feldspar: often occurring as dykes among igneous rocks of finer grain

Origin of pegmatite

C19: from Greek pegma something joined together

Derived forms of pegmatite

pegmatitic (ˌpɛɡməˈtɪtɪk), adjective

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 pegmatite

pegmatite

[ pĕg′mə-tīt′ ]

Any of various coarse-grained igneous rocks that often occur as wide veins cutting across other types of rock. Pegmatites form from water-rich magmas or lavas that cool slowly, allowing the crystals to grow to large sizes. Although pegmatites can be compositionally similar to a number of rocks, they most often have the composition of granite.

Browse