Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of, relating to, or characterized by metamorphosis.
- adjective Geology Changed in structure or composition as a result of metamorphism. Used of rock.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Producing metamorphosis; changing the form or structure; transforming: as, a metamorphic cause or agency; metamorphic action.
- Exhibiting metamorphosis or metamorphism; changed in form or structure; metamorphosed.
- See
metamorphism . - Noting races formed by intercrossing of archimorphic races in those parts of the world where distinct archimorphic races come into contact. Examples of metamorphic races are the Malay, Ethiopians, and Hottentots.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- adjective Subject to change; changeable; variable.
- adjective Causing a change of structure.
- adjective (Geol.) Pertaining to, produced by, or exhibiting, certain changes which minerals or rocks may have undergone since their original deposition; -- especially applied to the recrystallization which sedimentary rocks have undergone through the influence of heat and pressure, after which they are called
metamorphic rocks.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective geology Having been structurally altered as a result of, or resulting from, exposure to intense heat and/or pressure (at the contact zone between colliding plates, for example).
- noun mineralogy A rock that has been changed from its original form by subjection to heat and/or pressure.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective characterized by metamorphosis or change in physical form or substance
- adjective of or relating to metamorphosis (especially of rocks)
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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In its more limited sense, the term metamorphic is confined to those changes of the rock which are produced, not by the effect of the atmosphere or of water on the exposed surfaces, but which are produced, directly or indirectly, by agencies seated in the interior of the earth.
COSMOS: A Sketch of the Physical Description of the Universe, Vol. 1 Alexander von Humboldt 1814
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Rocks modified in this way are termed metamorphic rocks.
Rock cycle 2007
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The conception of rocks as representing phases or stages in a progressive series of changes called the metamorphic cycle aids greatly in correlating and holding in mind many details of rock nature and origin, and brings into some sort of perspective the conditions which have produced rocks.
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There is also a class of rocks, called metamorphic rocks, including some kinds of marble.
Young Folks' Library, Volume XI (of 20) Wonders of Earth, Sea and Sky Various 1880
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When we reached an elevation of about two hundred feet, the coralline rock which fringes the shore was succeeded by a hard crystalline rock, a kind of metamorphic sandstone.
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I may observe that in the case of the frozen snow the columnar structure must be owing to a "metamorphic" action, and not to a process during deposition.
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I may observe that in the case of the frozen snow the columnar structure must be owing to a "metamorphic" action, and not to a process during deposition.
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Under the general heading of common rocks are included the ordinary igneous, sedimentary, and "metamorphic" rocks, and the unconsolidated clays, sands, and gravels characteristic of surface conditions, which are mined and quarried for commercial use.
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Soil originate from rocks, igneous, sedimentary, and "metamorphic" by processes of weathering, and by the mixing of the altered mineral products with decayed plant remains or _humus_.
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When we reached an elevation of about two hundred feet, the coralline rock which fringes the shore was succeeded by a hard crystalline rock, a kind of metamorphic sandstone.
The Malay Archipelago, the land of the orang-utan and the bird of paradise; a narrative of travel, with studies of man and nature — Volume 2 Alfred Russel Wallace 1868
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