ultrabasic

[ uhl-truh-bey-sik ]

adjective
  1. (of rocks) containing iron and magnesium, with little or no silica.

Origin of ultrabasic

1
First recorded in 1890–95; ultra- + basic

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British Dictionary definitions for ultrabasic

ultrabasic

/ (ˌʌltrəˈbeɪsɪk) /


adjective
  1. (of such igneous rocks as peridotite) containing less than 45 per cent silica

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for ultrabasic

ultrabasic

[ ŭl′trə-bāsĭk ]


  1. Containing magnesium and iron and only a very small amount of silica. Used of igneous rock, and often used interchangeably with ultramafic. Peridotite is an ultrabasic rock.

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