Syenite

1 definition found

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]