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schist

[shist]
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noun
  1. any of a class of crystalline metamorphic rocks whose constituent mineral grains have a more or less parallel or foliated arrangement.
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Origin of schist

1775–85; < New Latin schistus, Latin (lapis) schistos < Greek schistós divided, curdled, divisible, derivative of schízein to split, with -tos adj. suffix
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for schist

Historical Examples

  • Here and there are mixtures of schist, gneiss, and porphyry.

    The Rocky Mountain Wonderland

    Enos A. Mills

  • General view of junction of granite and schist of the Valorsine.

  • The hills which bound the valley of the creek are basalt, sandstone, and schist.

  • There the vein had failed, between the schist and the tertiary sandstone.

  • I think that would be schist about as good as anything you could do.

    Remarks

    Bill Nye

British Dictionary definitions for schist

schist

noun
  1. any metamorphic rock that can be split into thin layers because its micaceous minerals have become aligned in thin parallel bands
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Derived Formsschistose, adjectiveschistosity (ʃɪˈstɒsɪtɪ), noun

Word Origin

C18: from French schiste, from Latin lapis schistos stone that may be split, from Greek skhizein to split
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 schist

n.

type of layered metamorphic rock, 1795 (earlier schistus, c.1600), from French schiste (16c.), from Latin schistos lapis "stone that splits easily" (Pliny), from Greek skhistos "divided, separated," from skhizein "to split" (see shed (v.)). The rock splits easily in layers. Liddell and Scott says Greek skhistos lithos was "probably talc."

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
schist in Science

schist

[shĭst]
  1. A highly foliated, medium-grained metamorphic rock that splits easily into flakes or slabs along well-defined planes of mica. The mineral composition of schist is varied and is often reflected in the name given to the rock. For example, a schist that contains garnet is called a garnet schist. A schist containing chlorite is called a chlorite schist.
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Related formsschistose adjective (shĭs′tōs′)
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.