From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Granite \Gran"ite\ (gr[a^]n"[i^]t), n. [It. granito granite,
adj., grainy, p. p. of granire to make grainy, fr. L. granum
grain; cf. F. granit. See {Grain}.] (Geol.)
A crystalline, granular rock, consisting of quartz, feldspar,
and mica, and usually of a whitish, grayish, or flesh-red
color. It differs from gneiss in not having the mica in
planes, and therefore in being destitute of a schistose
structure.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Varieties containing hornblende are common. See also
the {Note} under {Mica}.
[1913 Webster]
{Gneissoid granite}, granite in which the mica has traces of
a regular arrangement.
{Graphic granite}, granite consisting of quartz and feldspar
without mica, and having the quartz crystals so arranged
in the transverse section like oriental characters.
{Porphyritic granite}, granite containing feldspar in
distinct crystals.
{Hornblende granite}, or
{Syenitic granite}, granite containing hornblende as well as
mica, or, according to some authorities hornblende
replacing the mica.
{Granite ware}.
(a) A kind of stoneware.
(b) A Kind of ironware, coated with an enamel resembling
granite.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Syenite \Sy"e*nite\, n. [L. Syenites (sc. lapis), from Syene,
Gr. ?.] (Min.)
(a) Orig., a rock composed of quartz, hornblende, and
feldspar, anciently quarried at Syene, in Upper Egypt,
and now called {granite}.
(b) A granular, crystalline, ingeous rock composed of
orthoclase and hornblende, the latter often replaced or
accompanied by pyroxene or mica. Syenite sometimes
contains nephelite (elaeolite) or leucite, and is then
called {nephelite (elaeolite) syenite} or {leucite
syenite}.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
granite
n 1: plutonic igneous rock having visibly crystalline texture;
generally composed of feldspar and mica and quartz
2: something having the quality of granite (unyielding
firmness); "a man of granite"
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