granite

[gran-it] /ˈgræn ɪt/

noun

a coarse-grained igneous rock composed chiefly of orthoclase and albite feldspars and of quartz, usually with lesser amounts of one or more other minerals, as mica, hornblende, or augite.

anything compared to this rock in great hardness, firmness, or durability.

Origin

1640-50; < Italian granito grainy. See grain, -ite¹

Related forms

granitic

[gruh-nit-ik] /grəˈnɪt ɪk/ (Show IPA), adjective

granitelike, adjective

pregranitic, adjective

Can be confused

granite, granité.

granité

[gran-i-tey, grah-ni-; French gra-nee-tey] /ˌgræn ɪˈteɪ, ˌgrɑ nɪ-; French gra niˈteɪ/

noun, French Cookery.

ice (def 4).

Origin

< French

Can be confused

granite, granité.

Examples from the web for granite

For generations, the lure of the cool deep water and craggy terrain of this city's granite quarries has proved too strong.
Such descriptions as they left of their work are as shorn of embellishment as the granite stonework.
The fluid from the deep granite was so corrosive it ate the special well casings out within months.
Mulch with decomposed granite or gravel, not compost.
But shipments of granite can conceal a bigger stash.
His region had another money-spinning product: granite.
His name and photo reside on a cold piece of granite in a cemetery.
It was meant for abrasion on some granite cliff-face, so there's a body armor aspect to it.
The piece is one of several thousand metal dowels that held in place the granite panels of the museum's overhanging facade.
Eventually, no liquid remains, and you are left with granite.

British Dictionary definitions for granite

granite

/ˈɡrænɪt/

noun

a light-coloured coarse-grained acid plutonic igneous rock consisting of quartz, feldspars, and such ferromagnesian minerals as biotite or hornblende: widely used for building

great hardness, endurance, or resolution

another name for a stone (sense 9)

Derived Forms

granite-like, adjective
granitic (ɡrəˈnɪtɪk), granitoid, adjective

Word Origin

C17: from Italian granito grained, from granire to grain, from grano grain, from Latin grānum

Word Origin and History for granite

1640s, from French granit(e) (17c.) or directly from Italian granito "granite," originally "grained," past participle of granire "granulate, make grainy," from grano "grain," from Latin granum "grain" (see corn (n.1)). In reference to the appearance of the rock. Used figuratively for "hardness" (of the heart, head, etc.) from 1839. New Hampshire, U.S., has been the Granite State since at least 1825.

granite in Science

granite

(grān'ĭt)
A usually light-colored, coarse-grained igneous rock consisting mostly of quartz, orthoclase feldspar, sodium-rich plagioclase feldspar, and micas. Quartz usually makes up 10 to 50 percent of the light-colored minerals in granite, with the remaining minerals consisting of the feldspars and muscovite. The darker minerals in granite are usually biotite and hornblende. Granite is one of the most common rocks in the crust of continents, and is formed by the slow, underground cooling of magma.

granite in Culture

granite definition

A relatively lightweight igneous rock that makes up most of the Earth's crust beneath the continents. (See basalt, plate tectonics, and tectonic plates.)