crystallite

[kris-tl-ahyt]

crys·tal·lite

[kris-tl-ahyt]
noun Mineralogy.
a minute body in glassy igneous rock, showing incipient crystallization.

Origin:
1795–1805; crystall- + -ite1

crys·tal·lit·ic [kris-tl-it-ik] , adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Crystallite is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
Collins
World English Dictionary
crystallite (ˈkrɪstəˌlaɪt)
 
n
any of the minute rudimentary or imperfect crystals occurring in many glassy rocks
 
crystallitic
 
adj

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia

crystallite

any of a type of microscopic body occurring in such glassy igneous rocks as obsidian and pitchstone. Crystallites are regarded as incipient or embryonic crystals, though they often have no recognizable crystallographic form and are too small to polarize light. They occur when magma (molten rock material) congeals so rapidly that crystallization remains incomplete. Crystallites are distinguished from microlites, which are slightly larger forms recognizable as mineral species

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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