smectite

American  

[smek-tahyt] / ˈsmɛkˌtaɪt /

noun

Mineralogy.

1. montmorillonite.

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smectite British  

/ ˈsmɛktaɪt /

noun

1. any of a group of clay minerals of which montmorillonite and saponite are members

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Etymology

Origin of smectite

1805–15; < Greek smēkt ( ós ) smeared + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

Through a series of analyses, the researchers showed that smectite was likely produced after several major tectonic events over the last 500 million years.

From Science Daily • Nov. 30, 2023

What preserved the DNA over the ages was not only the natural icebox of permafrost, but also grains of quartz and clay, especially smectite, whose charged surfaces bound and protected the DNA.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 14, 2022

Sorting out the food problem may also take time, but within several months someone might have been able to knock up a polytunnel to grow a couple of undersized cabbages in the smectite clay.

From The Guardian • Aug. 4, 2015

For example, pyroxene can be converted to the clay minerals chlorite or smectite, and olivine can be converted to the clay mineral serpentine.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

The American Bottom clay, known as smectite clay, is especially prone to swelling: its volume can increase by a factor of eight.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann