leucite

See also: Leucite

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek λευκός (leukós, white) + -ite.

Leucite crystals in a rock

Pronunciation

  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈlusaɪt/

Noun

leucite (countable and uncountable, plural leucites)

  1. (mineralogy) A mineral of silica-poor igneous, plutonic and volcanic rocks. Chemically, leucite is a potassium feldspar with insufficient silica to satisfy the chemical bonds. Because of the unfilled bonds, leucite weathers rapidly and can only be seen as inclusions in freshly broken rock.
  2. (botany) A leucoplast.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

  • Leucite” in David Barthelmy, Webmineral Mineralogy Database, 1997–.
  • leucite”, in Mindat.org, Hudson Institute of Mineralogy, accessed 29 August 2016.

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