diorite Min.
(ˈdaɪəraɪt)
[a. F. diorite (Haüy), irreg. f. διορίζ-ειν to distinguish + -ite.]
A variety of greenstone, consisting of hornblende combined with a triclinic feldspar (albite or oligoclase).
| 1826 W. Phillips Outl. Mineral. & Geol. 151 The Diabase, Diorite, and Amphibolite of French authors, seems to include both Greenstone and Hornblende rock. 1858 Geikie Hist. Boulder xii. 239 Hornblendic green-stones, or diorites. 1865 Lubbock Preh. Times vi. (1869) 182 The axe was preeminently the implement of antiquity. Serpentine and diorite were the principal materials. |
| attrib. 1877 A. B. Edwards Up Nile xxii. 709 The magnificent diorite statue of Shafra, the builder of the Second Pyramid. 1890 Goldfields Victoria 17 The stone..running through a diorite dyke. |