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.

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argillaceous British  

/ ˌɑːdʒɪˈleɪʃəs /

adjective

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

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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 south-eastern end of the dam abuts on the hill of hard, fine-grained, argillaceous sandstone in which the lock-site is being excavated.

From The Panama Canal and its Makers by Cornish, Vaughan

In this process the free sulphuric acid formed by the oxidation of pyrites reacts upon the argillaceous material to form aluminium sulphate.

From De Re Metallica, Translated from the First Latin Edition of 1556 by Agricola, Georgius

The ore is chiefly of that kind called the argillaceous oxide, and produces iron which is well adapted for steam-engine machinery, and for hollow-ware.

From Scenes and Andventures in the Semi-Alpine Region of the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas by Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe