† pœcilite Geol. Obs.
(ˈpiːsɪlaɪt)
[f. Gr. ποικίλος variegated + -ite1; after F. terrain pœcilien (Brongniart 1829).]
A name proposed for the Upper New Red Sandstone (cf. Ger. bunter sandstein). Hence † pœcilitic (piːsɪˈlɪtɪk) a., (a) of or pertaining to the Upper New Red Sandstone formation; = poikilitic a. 1; (b) (Petrogr.) = poikilitic a. 2 (obs.).
| 1832 W. D. Conybeare in Rep. Brit. Assoc. 379 The next geological group..beneath the lias and oolites, is that..characterized by the new red or variegated sandstone... I will venture therefore to propose the term Pœcilite..and hence denominate the group, pœcilitic. Brongniart has already adopted the Gallicised form Pœcilien. 1887 G. H. Williams in Amer. Jrnl. Sci. CXXXIII. 139 Here..we have another example of the structure which the writer has distinguished as pœcilitic* in describing the hornblende of the Cortlandt peridotites. [Note] *The word is here changed to the accepted form. 1909 F. P. Mennell Introd. Petrol. xii. 87 (caption) Poecilitic structure, in picrite, Belingwe, Rhodesia. (Olivine enclosed in enstatite). |