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Audio Help [gran-it] Pronunciation Key | 1. | a coarse-grained igneous rock composed chiefly of orthoclase and albite feldspars and of quartz, usually with lesser amounts of one or more other minerals, as mica, hornblende, or augite. |
| 2. | anything compared to this rock in great hardness, firmness, or durability. |
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| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
Granite
To learn more about Granite visit Britannica.com
| © 2008 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. |
| Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006. |
| gran·ite
Audio Help (grān'ĭt) Pronunciation Key
n.
[Italian granito, from past participle of granire, to make grainy, from grano, grain, from Latin grānum; see g  ə-no- in Indo-European roots.]
gra·nit'ic (grā-nĭt'ĭk, grə-), gran'it·oid' (grān'ĭ-toid') adj. |
| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
granite
| Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper |
| granite | |
noun | |
| 1. | plutonic igneous rock having visibly crystalline texture; generally composed of feldspar and mica and quartz |
| 2. | something having the quality of granite (unyielding firmness); "a man of granite" |
| WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University. |
granite [ˈgrӕnit] noun, adjective
Example: granite hills
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| Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary, © 2000-2006 K Dictionaries Ltd. |
| granite
Audio Help (grān'ĭt) Pronunciation Key
A usually light-colored, coarse-grained igneous rock consisting mostly of quartz, orthoclase feldspar, sodium-rich plagioclase feldspar, and micas. Quartz usually makes up 10 to 50 percent of the light-colored minerals in granite, with the remaining minerals consisting of the feldspars and muscovite. The darker minerals in granite are usually biotite and hornblende. Granite is one of the most common rocks in the crust of continents, and is formed by the slow, underground cooling of magma. |
| The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
granite
A relatively lightweight igneous rock that makes up most of the Earth's crust beneath the continents. (See basalt, plate tectonics, and tectonic plates.)
[Chapter:] Earth Sciences
| The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
Granite Springs, NY Zip code(s): 10527
Granite Falls, MN (city, FIPS 25280) Location: 44.81106 N, 95.53870 W
Population (1990): 3083 (1401 housing units)
Area: 8.9 sq km (land), 0.7 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 56241
Granite Falls, NC (town, FIPS 27420) Location: 35.80167 N, 81.42705 W
Population (1990): 3253 (1366 housing units)
Area: 8.5 sq km (land), 0.1 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 28630
Granite Falls, WA (town, FIPS 27995) Location: 48.08286 N, 121.96709 W
Population (1990): 1060 (445 housing units)
Area: 1.8 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 98252
Granite City, IL (city, FIPS 30926) Location: 38.71440 N, 90.12965 W
Population (1990): 32862 (13886 housing units)
Area: 32.4 sq km (land), 1.2 sq km (water)
Granite Shoals, TX (city, FIPS 30584) Location: 30.58867 N, 98.38375 W
Population (1990): 1378 (1145 housing units)
Area: 6.0 sq km (land), 2.0 sq km (water)
Granite Quarry, NC (town, FIPS 27440) Location: 35.61319 N, 80.44571 W
Population (1990): 1646 (688 housing units)
Area: 4.4 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Granite Hills, CA (CDP, FIPS 30703) Location: 32.80300 N, 116.90376 W
Population (1990): 3157 (1035 housing units)
Area: 7.7 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Granite County, MT (county, FIPS 39) Location: 46.42043 N, 113.44701 W
Population (1990): 2548 (1924 housing units)
Area: 4474.3 sq km (land), 14.6 sq km (water)
Granite, CO Zip code(s): 81228
Granite, MD Zip code(s): 21163
Granite, OK (town, FIPS 30950) Location: 34.96294 N, 99.37830 W
Population (1990): 1844 (587 housing units)
Area: 3.9 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Zip code(s): 73547
Granite, OR (city, FIPS 30500) Location: 44.81056 N, 118.41941 W
Population (1990): 8 (48 housing units)
Area: 1.0 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
Granite, UT (CDP, FIPS 30900) Location: 40.56743 N, 111.80560 W
Population (1990): 3300 (903 housing units)
Area: 10.0 sq km (land), 0.0 sq km (water)
| U.S. Gazetteer, U.S. Census Bureau |
Granite
Gran"ite\, n. [It. granito granite, adj., grainy, p. p. of granire to make grainy, fr. L. granum grain; cf. F. granit. See Grain.] (Geol.) A crystalline, granular rock, consisting of quartz, feldspar, and mica, and usually of a whitish, grayish, or flesh-red color. It differs from gneiss in not having the mica in planes, and therefore in being destitute of a schistose structure. Note: Varieties containing hornblende are common. See also the Note under Mica. Gneissoid granite, granite in which the mica has traces of a regular arrangement. Graphic granite, granite consisting of quartz and feldspar without mica, and having the quartz crystals so arranged in the transverse section like oriental characters. Porphyritic granite, granite containing feldspar in distinct crystals. Hornblende granite, or Syenitic granite, granite containing hornblende as well as mica, or, according to some authorities hornblende replacing the mica. Granite ware. (a) A kind of stoneware. (b) A Kind of ironware, coated with an enamel resembling granite.| Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc. |
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