saussurite

American  

[saw-suh-rahyt] / ˈsɔ səˌraɪt /

noun

1. a mineral aggregate of albite, zoisite, and other calcium aluminum silicates, formed by alteration of plagioclase feldspars in igneous rocks.

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Other Word Forms

• saussuritic adjective

Etymology

Origin of saussurite

1805–15; named after H. B. de Saussure (1740–99), Swiss geologist and physicist; see -ite ¹

Example Sentences

Secondary mica is also a common result of alteration, and among other products are pinite, epidote, saussurite, chlorite, wollastonite and various zeolites.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 2 "Fairbanks, Erastus" to "Fens" by Various

Some authors believe that the development of saussurite from felspar is also dependent on pressure rather than on weathering, and an analogous change may affect the olivine, replacing it by talc, chlorite, actinolite and garnet.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 4 "G" to "Gaskell, Elizabeth" by Various

Equally characteristic of the gabbros is the alteration of the felspars to cloudy, semi-opaque masses of saussurite.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 4 "G" to "Gaskell, Elizabeth" by Various

They were, no doubt, pieces of that saussurite jade, or compact feldspar, which we brought home from the Orinoco, and which La Condamine found in abundance at the mouth of the Rio Topayos.

From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 3 by Humboldt, Alexander von