Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A small, round grain consisting of concentric layers of calcium carbonate, silica, or dolomite that have precipitated around a shell fragment, sand grain, pellet of alga, or other central object.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun geology A spherical
granule of whichoolite is composed, formed by concentric accretion of thin layers of a mineral around a core. Calcium carbonate (limestone ) is the most common mineral that forms ooliths, but they may also form from other minerals such asdolomite andsilica . - noun rare
Oolite .
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[oo– (since ooliths resemble fish roe in texture and appearance) + –lith.]
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
From Latin oolithus, from Ancient Greek ᾠο- ("oo-") + λίθος (lithos, "stone"), corresponding to oo- + -lith
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she commented on the word oolith
Geol. n. Any of the small, rounded granules of which oolite is composed.
August 4, 2008