schist

[ shist ]

/ ʃɪst /

noun

any of a class of crystalline metamorphic rocks whose constituent mineral grains have a more or less parallel or foliated arrangement.

Nearby words

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. 2019

Examples from the Web for schist

Awed, despite themselves, they stood there on a flat slab of schist that projected boldly over the void.
Darkness and Dawn|George Allan England
The marble occupies two beds in schist, and between the two rocks there is gradation of composition.
History and Comprehensive Description of Loudoun County, Virginia|James W. Head
A zone of sheeted rocks like schist or slate, if sufficiently mineralized to warrant mining, would be a lode.
The Business of Mining|Arthur J. Hoskin
The next geological formation which is represented is the Eocene, consisting of nummulitic limestone, sandstone and schist.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 2|Various

It is entirely made up of angular fragments of the schist underneath, to which it adheres with great tenacity.
Gairloch In North-West Ross-Shire|John H. Dixon, F.S.A. Scot

British Dictionary definitions for schist

schist

/ (ʃɪst) /

noun

any metamorphic rock that can be split into thin layers because its micaceous minerals have become aligned in thin parallel bands

Derived Formsschistose, adjectiveschistosity (ʃɪˈstɒsɪtɪ), noun

Word Origin for schist

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

schist

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."

Science definitions for schist

schist

[ shĭst ]

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.

Related formsschistose adjective (shĭs′tōs′)