Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various altered basic igneous rocks colored green by chlorite, hornblende, or epidote.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Any one of various rocks, of eruptive origin, in general older than the Tertiary, crystalline-granular in texture, and of a dark-greenish color.
  • noun A very hard and close-textured stone used for putting the last edge on lancets and other delicate surgical instruments, etc.
  • noun A name in New Zealand for several varieties of jade, specifically for pounamu or nephrite, found chiefly on the west coast of the Middle Island: formerly much used by the Maoris for weapons, implements, and ornaments.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Geol.) A name formerly applied rather loosely to certain dark-colored igneous rocks, including diorite, diabase, etc.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun archaeology any of several green-hued minerals used for making various artefacts in early Mesoamerican cultures, e.g. greenschist, chlorastrolite, serpentine, omphacite, or chrysoprase
  • noun New Zealand the green-hued minerals of New Zealand used by Māori to make tools, ornaments and weapons (any of three varieties of nephrite jade or one variety of bowenite)

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From green + stone.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word greenstone.

Examples

  • The soils of the Marcassin vineyard are 18–24 inches of gravelly loam over highly fractured rock of marine volcanic origin, known as greenstone or basalt.

    The World’s Greatest Wine Estates Jr. Robert M. Parker 2005

  • The soils of the Marcassin vineyard are 18–24 inches of gravelly loam over highly fractured rock of marine volcanic origin, known as greenstone or basalt.

    The World’s Greatest Wine Estates Jr. Robert M. Parker 2005

  • The soils of the Marcassin vineyard are 18–24 inches of gravelly loam over highly fractured rock of marine volcanic origin, known as greenstone or basalt.

    The World’s Greatest Wine Estates Jr. Robert M. Parker 2005

  • The soils of the Marcassin vineyard are 18–24 inches of gravelly loam over highly fractured rock of marine volcanic origin, known as greenstone or basalt.

    The World’s Greatest Wine Estates Jr. Robert M. Parker 2005

  • The soils of the Marcassin vineyard are 18–24 inches of gravelly loam over highly fractured rock of marine volcanic origin, known as greenstone or basalt.

    The World’s Greatest Wine Estates Jr. Robert M. Parker 2005

  • The soils of the Marcassin vineyard are 18–24 inches of gravelly loam over highly fractured rock of marine volcanic origin, known as greenstone or basalt.

    The World’s Greatest Wine Estates Jr. Robert M. Parker 2005

  • The soils of the Marcassin vineyard are 18–24 inches of gravelly loam over highly fractured rock of marine volcanic origin, known as greenstone or basalt.

    The World’s Greatest Wine Estates Jr. Robert M. Parker 2005

  • The soils of the Marcassin vineyard are 18–24 inches of gravelly loam over highly fractured rock of marine volcanic origin, known as greenstone or basalt.

    The World’s Greatest Wine Estates Jr. Robert M. Parker 2005

  • The soils of the Marcassin vineyard are 18–24 inches of gravelly loam over highly fractured rock of marine volcanic origin, known as greenstone or basalt.

    The World’s Greatest Wine Estates Jr. Robert M. Parker 2005

  • The soils of the Marcassin vineyard are 18–24 inches of gravelly loam over highly fractured rock of marine volcanic origin, known as greenstone or basalt.

    The World’s Greatest Wine Estates Jr. Robert M. Parker 2005

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.