quartzite

[kwawrt-sahyt]

noun

a granular metamorphic rock consisting essentially of quartz in interlocking grains.

Origin of quartzite

First recorded in 1840–50; quartz + -ite¹

Related formsquartz·it·ic

[kwawrt-sit-ik] /kwɔrtˈsɪt ɪk/, adjective

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

Examples from the Web for quartzite

Historical Examples of quartzite

For furnace linings, the quartzite or ganister must be exceptionally pure.
The Economic Aspect of Geology
C. K. Leith
Pebbles of the conglomerate are mainly quartz and quartzite.
The Economic Aspect of Geology
C. K. Leith
The magnetic iron ore is associated with hornblende and quartzite.
A Report on Washington Territory
William Henry Ruffner
For them flint and quartzite took the place of bronze, iron, or steel.
Men of the Old Stone Age
Henry Fairfield Osborn
It appears to us from its use to have been either a quartzite or a fissile limestone.
De Re Metallica
Georgius Agricola

British Dictionary definitions for quartzite

quartzite

noun

a very hard metamorphic rock consisting of a mosaic of intergrown quartz crystals
a white or grey sandstone composed of quartz

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 quartzite

1837, from quartz + -ite.

quartzite in Science

quartzite

[kwôrt′sīt′]

A metamorphic rock consisting entirely of quartz. Quartzite forms when sandstone or chert are heated during metamorphism.