Definitions
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A silicious rock or jasper, of a velvety-black color, used as a touchstone for determining the amount of alloy in gold. The touchstone was formerly extensively used, but is now much less common. See
touchstone and touch-needle.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Min.) Lydian stone, or black jasper, a variety of siliceous or flinty slate, of a grayish or bluish black color. It is employed to test the purity of gold, the amount of alloy being indicated by the color left on the stone when rubbed by the metal.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun geology A
basaltic extrusive rock , similar tochert
Etymologies
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Examples
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Or is he a kind of basanite for bunches, and do they come out on us at the sight of him?
Friendship Village Zona Gale 1906
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The flows from Kibo include nepheline and leucite basanite lavas rich in soda felspars.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3 "Brescia" to "Bulgaria" Various
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