syenite

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin Syēnītēs, from Syēnē (“Aswan”), because it was anciently quarried there.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsaɪənaɪt/

Noun

syenite (countable and uncountable, plural syenites)

1. (geology, obsolete) Granite.
2. (geology) An igneous rock composed of feldspar and hornblende.
   • 1906, James George Frazer, Adonis, Attis, Osiris, page 15:

     The temple, of which some massive hewn blocks and a fine column of Syenite granite still mark the site, occupied a terrace facing the source of the river and commanding a magnificent prospect.

   • 1954, J. C. Olson, D. R. Shawe, L. C. Pray, W. N. Sharp, Rare-Earth Mineral Deposits of the Mountain Pass District, San Bernadino County, California, U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 261, page 22:

     Much of the southern half of the southeastern body is a mafic syenite, slightly more felsic than the shonkinite.

Translations

obsolete: granite — see granite

igneous rock composed of feldspar and hornblende

• Catalan: sienita f
• Finnish: syeniitti
• French: syénite (fr) f
• German: Syenit m
• Latin: lapis Syēnītēs m, Syēnē f (poetic)
• Slovak: syenit m
• Spanish: sienita f

Further reading

• syenite on Wikipedia.Wikipedia