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porphyrymore about porphyry

porphyry


  2  definitions  found 
 
  From  Webster's  Revised  Unabridged  Dictionary  (1913)  [web1913]: 
 
  Porphyry  \Por"phy*ry\,  n.;  pl  {Porphyries}.  [F.  porphyre,  L. 
  porphyrites,  fr  Gr  ?  like  purple,  fr  ?  purple.  See 
  {Purple}.]  (Geol.) 
  A  term  used  somewhat  loosely  to  designate  a  rock  consisting 
  of  a  fine-grained  base  (usually  feldspathic)  through  which 
  crystals,  as  of  feldspar  or  quartz,  are  disseminated.  There 
  are  red,  purple,  and  green  varieties,  which  are  highly 
  esteemed  as  marbles. 
 
  {Porphyry  shell}  (Zo["o]l.),  a  handsome  marine  gastropod 
  shell  ({Oliva  porphyria}),  having  a  dark  red  or  brown 
  polished  surface,  marked  with  light  spots,  like  porphyry. 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  porphyry 
  n  :  any  igneous  rock  with  crystals  embedded  in  a  finer 
  groundmass  of  minerals  [syn:  {porphyritic  rock}] 




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