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View synonyms for granite
granite
1[ gran-it ]
noun
- 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.
- anything compared to this rock in great hardness, firmness, or durability.
granité
2[ gran-i-tey, grah-ni-; French gra-nee-tey ]
noun
, French Cooking.
granite
/ grăn′ĭt /
- 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.
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 .)
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Derived Forms
- granitic, adjective
- ˈgranite-ˌlike, adjective
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Other Words From
- gra·nit·ic [gr, uh, -, nit, -ik], adjective
- granite·like adjective
- pre·gra·nitic adjective
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Word History and Origins
Origin of granite1
C17: from Italian granito grained, from granire to grain, from grano grain, from Latin grānum
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