[gran-it] 
| 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. |
| gran·ite (grān'ĭt) 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. |
A relatively lightweight igneous rock that makes up most of the Earth's crust beneath the continents. (See basalt, plate tectonics, and tectonic plates.)
| granite (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. |
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