trachyte

[trey-kahyt, trak-ahyt]

noun

a fine-grained volcanic rock consisting essentially of alkali feldspar and one or more subordinate minerals, as hornblende or mica: the extrusive equivalent of syenite.

Origin of trachyte

1815–25; < French < Greek trāchýtēs roughness, equivalent to trāchý(s) rough + -tēs noun suffix

Related formstra·chyt·ic

[truh-kit-ik] /trəˈkɪt ɪk/, trach·y·toid

[trak-i-toid, trey-ki-] /ˈtræk ɪˌtɔɪd, ˈtreɪ kɪ-/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for trachytic

Historical Examples of trachytic

The building material was trachytic rock as found upon the mesa.
The Prehistoric World
E. A. Allen
This mountain appears to be formed mainly of trachytic matter.
Volcanoes: Past and Present
Edward Hull
Chimborazo is very likely not a solid mountain: trachytic volcanoes are supposed to be full of cavities.
The Andes and the Amazon
James Orton
Some of the trachytic lavas are said to abound with crystals of albite.
Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume I
Karl Ritter von Scherzer
In New Zealand, numerous regions abound in basaltic and trachytic rocks.
Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume I
Karl Ritter von Scherzer

British Dictionary definitions for trachytic

trachytic

adjective

(of the texture of certain igneous rocks) characterized by a parallel arrangement of crystals, which mark the flow of the lava when still molten

trachyte

noun

a light-coloured fine-grained volcanic rock of rough texture consisting of feldspars with small amounts of pyroxene or amphibole

Derived Formstrachytoid (ˈtrækɪˌtɔɪd, ˈtreɪ-), adjective

Word Origin for trachyte

C19: from French, from Greek trakhutēs, from trakhus rough

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

trachytic in Science

trachyte

[trā′kīt′, trăk′īt′]

A light-colored, fine-grained igneous rock consisting primarily of alkali feldspar together with some mafic minerals, especially hornblende. Unlike most igneous rocks, trachyte has little or no quartz. Trachyte is the fine-grained equivalent of syenite.