Meaning & use
ophitic
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Describing a texture in certain igneous rocks in which lath-shaped feldspar crystals are partly or wholly enclosed within larger crystals of pyroxene.
See it in a sentence
The geologist identified an ophitic texture in the thin section of diabase under the microscope.
Ophitic textures are commonly used to help classify gabbro and dolerite samples.
A note on using this word
The term derives from the Greek word for "snake" (ophis), an old allusion to the mottled, serpent-skin-like appearance of the rock.
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