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Definition of plutonic - 6 dictionary results

plu⋅ton⋅ic

  [ploo-ton-ik]
Use plutonic in a Sentence
–adjective Geology.
noting or pertaining to a class of igneous rocks that have solidified far below the earth's surface.
Origin:
1790–1800; < L Plūtōn- (s. of Plūtō Pluto < Gk Ploútōn) + -ic; orig. referring to the Plutonic theory (see plutonism )

Plu⋅to⋅ni⋅an

  [ploo-toh-nee-uhn]
–adjective
Also, Plu⋅ton⋅ic  [ploo-ton-ik] . of, pertaining to, or resembling Pluto or the lower world; infernal.
Origin:
1660–70; < L Plūtōni(us) (< Gk Ploutnios, deriv. of Ploútōn Pluto ) + -an
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Plu·to·ni·an   (plōō-tō'nē-ən)   
adj.  
  1. Of or relating to the god Pluto or the underworld; infernal.
  2. Of or relating to the dwarf planet Pluto.
plu·ton·ic   (plōō-tŏn'ĭk)   
adj.  Of deep igneous or magmatic origin: plutonic rocks.

[From Latin Plūtō, Plūtōn-, Pluto; see Pluto.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Plutonic

Plu*ton"ic\, a. [Cf. F. plutonique. See Pluto.]

1. Of or pertaining to Pluto; Plutonian; hence, pertaining to the interior of the earth; subterranean.

2. Of, pertaining to, or designating, the system of the Plutonists; igneous; as, the Plutonic theory.

Plutonic action (Geol.), the influence of volcanic heat and other subterranean forces under pressure.

Plutonic rocks (Geol.), granite, porphyry, and some other igneous rocks, supposed to have consolidated from a melted state at a great depth from the surface. Cf. Intrusive rocks, under Intrusive.

Plutonic theory. (Geol.) See Plutonism.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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plutonic 
"pertaining to or involving intense heat deep in the earth's crust," 1796, from Pluto (q.v.) as god of the underworld; especially in ref. to early 19c. geological theory (championed by Hutton) that attributed most of the earth's features to action of internal heat, and which triumphed over its rival, neptunism, which attributed them to water.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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