stylolite

American  

[stahy-luh-lahyt] / ˈstaɪ ləˌlaɪt /

noun

Geology.

1. an irregular columnar structure in certain limestones, the columns being approximately at right angles to the bedding planes.

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stylolite British  

/ ˈstaɪləˌlaɪt, ˌstaɪləˈlɪtɪk /

noun

1. any of the small striated columnar or irregular structures within the strata of some limestones

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stylolite Scientific  

/ stī′lə-līt′ /

1. A contact surface usually found between two calcareous rock layers, marked by a series of jagged interlocking up-and-down projections that resemble a suture or the tracing of a stylus. Stylolites are found in rocks that have been subjected to pressure and are formed by a process, called pressure dissolution, whereby insoluble material, such as clay and hydrocarbons, becomes concentrated along a surface while other more soluble material, such as calcite, is carried away.

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Other Word Forms

• stylolitic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of stylolite

First recorded in 1865–70; stylo- ² + -lite