basalt

• POS: Noun
• HYPHEN: bas=alt

CIDE DICTIONARY

basalt, n. [L. basaltes (an African word), a dark and hard species of marble found in Ethiopia: cf. F. basalte.].

•  A rock of igneous origin, consisting of augite and triclinic feldspar, with grains of magnetic or titanic iron, and also bottle-green particles of olivine frequently disseminated.  [1913 Webster]

  " It is usually of a greenish black color, or of some dull brown shade, or black. It constitutes immense beds in some regions, and also occurs in veins or dikes cutting through other rocks. It has often a prismatic structure as at the Giant's Causeway, in Ireland, where the columns are as regular as if the work of art. It is a very tough and heavy rock, and is one of the best materials for macadamizing roads."  [1913 Webster]
•  An imitation, in pottery, of natural basalt; a kind of black porcelain.  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

basalt, n.
1 a dark basic volcanic rock whose strata sometimes form columns.
2 a kind of black stoneware resembling basalt.

Derivative

basaltic adj.

Etymology

L basaltes var. of basanites f. Gk f. basanos touchstone

THESAURUS

basalt

aa, abyssal rock, bedrock, block lava, brash, breccia, conglomerate, crag, druid stone, festooned pahoehoe, gneiss, granite, igneous rock, lava, limestone, living rock, magma, mantlerock, metamorphic rock, monolith, pahoehoe, pillow lava, porphyry, pudding stone, regolith, rock, ropy lava, rubble, rubblestone, sandstone, sarsen, schist, scoria, scree, sedimentary rock, shelly pahoehoe, stone, talus, tufa, tuff