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quartzite

[kwawrt-sahyt]
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noun
  1. a granular metamorphic rock consisting essentially of quartz in interlocking grains.
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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

  • 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 magnetic iron ore is associated with hornblende and quartzite.

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

n.

1837, from quartz + -ite.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
quartzite in Science

quartzite

[kwôrt′sīt′]
  1. A metamorphic rock consisting entirely of quartz. Quartzite forms when sandstone or chert are heated during metamorphism.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.