Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A large crystal that is surrounded by a fine-grained matrix in a metamorphic rock and forms from the recrystallization of existing mineral crystals during metamorphism.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun geology A relatively large
crystal within ametamorphic rock
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[porphyr(y) + —blast.]
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Examples
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hernesheir commented on the word porphyroblast
(n): (geology) in metamorphic rocks, a mineral crystal that is much larger than the crystals of the enclosing or surrounding matrix.
January 2, 2009