stishovite

[stish-uh-vahyt]

noun Mineralogy.

a rare polymorph of quartz, SiO2, formed under very high pressure, as by meteorite impact.

Compare coesite.

Origin of stishovite

1960–65; named after S. M. Stishov, 20th-century Russian mineralogist; see -ite¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018