felsite

American  

[fel-sahyt] / ˈfɛl saɪt /

noun

1. a dense, fine-grained, igneous rock consisting typically of feldspar and quartz, both of which may appear as phenocrysts.

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felsite British  

/ fɛlˈsɪtɪk, ˈfɛlsaɪt, ˈfɛlˌstəʊn /

noun

1. any fine-grained igneous rock consisting essentially of quartz and feldspar

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felsite Scientific  

/ fĕl′sīt′ /

1. A fine-grained, light-colored igneous rock, consisting mainly of feldspar and quartz.

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Other Word Forms

• felsitic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of felsite

First recorded in 1785–95; fels(par) + -ite ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

felsite

Cambrian Period.—In the Pass of Llanberis, along the banks of Llyn Padarn, masses of quartz-porphyry, felsite and agglomerate, or breccia, indicate volcanic action during this stage.

From Volcanoes: Past and Present by Hull, Edward

The stones themselves were felsite, which abounds in the locality.

From Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2) A Record of Five Years' Exploration Among the Tribes of the Western Sierra Madre; In the Tierra Caliente of Tepic and Jalisco; and Among the Tarascos of Michoacan by Lumholtz, Carl

From this place to the mines the rocks were soft decomposing dolerites, with many harder bands of felsite, and, occasionally, plains composed of more recent trachytic lavas.

From The Naturalist in Nicaragua by Belt, Thomas

The lode is a large irregular one of pure arsenical pyrites, existing in a felsite dike near the sea coast.

From Scientific American Supplement, No. 841, February 13, 1892 by Various

The blocks were lava and hard felsite, measuring one and a half to three feet.

From Unknown Mexico, Volume 1 (of 2) A Record of Five Years' Exploration Among the Tribes of the Western Sierra Madre; In the Tierra Caliente of Tepic and Jalisco; and Among the Tarascos of Michoacan by Lumholtz, Carl