[pawr-fuh-ree] 
| 1. | a very hard rock, anciently quarried in Egypt, having a dark, purplish-red groundmass containing small crystals of feldspar. |
| 2. | Petrology. any igneous rock containing coarse crystals, as phenocrysts, in a finer-grained groundmass. |
[pawr-fuh-ree] (Malchus ) a.d. c233–c304, Greek philosopher. |
[pawr-feer-ee-uhn] , adjective | por·phy·ry (pôr'fə-rē) n. pl. por·phy·ries Rock containing relatively large conspicuous crystals, especially feldspar, in a fine-grained igneous matrix. [Middle English porphiri, porfurie, from Old French porfire, from Italian porfiro, from Medieval Latin porphyrium, from Latin porphyrītēs, from Greek porphurītēs, from porphurā, shellfish yielding purple dye, purple (from its color).] |
| porphyry (pôr'fə-rē) Pronunciation Key
An igneous rock containing the large crystals known as phenocrysts embedded in a fine-grained matrix. porphyritic adjective (pôr'fə-rĭt'ĭk) |
Porphyry
Neoplatonist Greek philosopher, important both as an editor and as a biographer of the philosopher Plotinus and for his commentary on Aristotle's Categories, which set the stage for medieval developments of logic and the problem of universals. Boethius' Latin translation of the introduction (Isagoge) became a standard medieval textbook.
Learn more about Porphyry with a free trial on Britannica.com.
tēs