argillaceous

American  

[ahr-juh-ley-shuhs] / ˌɑr dʒəˈleɪ ʃəs /

adjective

1. Geology, Petrology. of the nature of or resembling clay; clayey.

2. containing a considerable amount of clayey matter.

---

argillaceous British  

/ ˌɑːdʒɪˈleɪʃəs /

adjective

1. (of sedimentary rocks and deposits) composed of very fine-grained material, such as clay, shale, etc Compare arenaceous rudaceous

---

Etymology

Origin of argillaceous

First recorded in 1725–35, argillaceous is from the Latin word argillāceus clayish. See argil, -aceous

Example Sentences

Geologist Paula Messina showed that the ground is covered by argillaceous sediments and bacterial mats, forming under wet conditions a very slippery surface.

From Scientific American • Jul. 22, 2013

The girls ticked off aquarellist, staphylococcic, gracilescent, adscititious, eupraxia, argillaceous, autochthan and umbelliferous.

From Time Magazine Archive

The argillaceous slates or clayey slates make a smooth surface, but one which is easily destroyed when wet.

From The Future of Road-making in America by Hulbert, Archer Bulter

Laterite, lat′ėr-īt, n. an argillaceous sandstone of a reddish or brick colour found in India, esp. in Ceylon.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 2 of 4: E-M) by Various

His thesis was on intermittent fevers, one of the principal causes of which he maintained to be water impregnated with argillaceous substances.

From Lives of Eminent Zoologists, from Aristotle to Linnæus with Introductory remarks on the Study of Natural History by MacGillivray, William