phyllite

American  

[fil-ahyt] / ˈfɪl aɪt /

noun

1. a slaty rock, the cleavage planes of which have a luster imparted by minute scales of mica.

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phyllite British  

/ fɪˈlɪtɪk, ˈfɪlaɪt /

noun

1. a compact lustrous metamorphic rock, rich in mica, derived from a shale or other clay-rich rock

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phyllite Scientific  

/ fĭl′īt′ /

1. A green, gray, or red metamorphic rock, similar to slate but often having a wavy surface and a distinctive luster imparted by the presence of mica.

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Other Word Forms

• phyllitic adjective

Etymology

Origin of phyllite

First recorded in 1820–30; phyll- + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

Two years ago, I scrambled into a six-foot-deep soil pit dug into this hillside to examine the crumbling phyllite rock just below the topsoil.

From Washington Post • May 10, 2019

The sequence slate → phyllite → schist → gneiss illustrates an increasing metamorphic grade.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

The rock sequence is sedimentary rock, slate, phyllite, schist, gneiss, migmatite, and granite.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2017

Where slate is typically planar, phyllite can form in wavy layers.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Specimens of the palæozoic group are found in the pebbles of the Mukawa River and valley, like amphibolite, limestone, phyllite, sandstone, and clay-slate, besides variegated quartzite of greenish and red layers.

From Alone with the Hairy Ainu or, 3,800 miles on a pack saddle in Yezo and a cruise to the Kurile Islands. by Landor, A. H. Savage