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biotite

[ bahy-uh-tahyt ]

noun

  1. a very common mineral of the mica group, occurring in black, dark-brown, or dark-green sheets and flakes: an important constituent of igneous and metamorphic rocks.


biotite

/ ˈbaɪəˌtaɪt; ˌbaɪəˈtɪtɪk /

noun

  1. a black or dark green mineral of the mica group, found in igneous and metamorphic rocks. Composition: hydrous magnesium iron potassium aluminium silicate. Formula: K(Mg,Fe) 3 (Al,Fe)Si 3 O 10 (OH) 2 . Crystal structure: monoclinic
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

biotite

/ ə-tīt′ /

  1. A dark-brown or dark-green to black mica. Biotite is monoclinic and is found in igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks. Chemical formula: K(Mg,Fe) 3 (Al,Fe)Si 3 O 10 (OH) 2 .
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Derived Forms

  • biotitic, adjective
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Other Words From

  • bi·o·tit·ic [bahy-, uh, -, tit, -ik], adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of biotite1

1860–65; named after J. B. Biot (1774–1862), French mineralogist and mathematician; -ite 1
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Example Sentences

Slates, shales and clays yield biotite hornfelses in which the most conspicuous mineral is black mica, in small scales which under the microscope are transparent and have a dark reddish-brown colour and strong dichroism.

The snowy white feldspar and quartz set off the glittering crystals of hornblende and biotite wonderfully.

The biotite is brown; the hornblende brown or greenish brown; the augite usually green.

The commonest accessory minerals are tourmaline, topaz, apatite, fluorspar and iron oxides; a little felspar more or less altered may also be present and a brown mica which is biotite or lithionite.

Exceptions to this sequence are unusual; sometimes the first of the felspars have preceded the hornblende or biotite which may envelop them in ophitic manner.

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biotinbiotope