oolite

American  

[oh-uh-lahyt] / ˈoʊ əˌlaɪt /

noun

Geology.

1. a limestone composed of minute rounded concretions resembling fish roe, in some places altered to ironstone by replacement with iron oxide.

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oolite British  

/ ˌəʊəˈlɪtɪk, ˈəʊəˌlaɪt /

noun

1. any sedimentary rock, esp limestone, consisting of tiny spherical concentric grains within a fine matrix

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oolite Scientific  

/ ō′ə-līt′ /

1. A sedimentary rock consisting of ooliths that are cemented together by calcium carbonate.

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Other Word Forms

• oolitic adjective

Etymology

Origin of oolite

1775–85; (< French oölithe ) < New Latin oölithēs. See oo-, -lite

Example Sentences

Birds in the oolite," he said to himself quickly; "it's quite impossible!

From The Beckoning Hand and Other Stories by Allen, Grant

The tests indicated that it consisted of shale of the lower oolite, and the works were let accordingly. 

From Lives of the Engineers The Locomotive. George and Robert Stephenson by Smiles, Samuel

He appears to have been the first to introduce the term oolithus to rocks that resemble in structure the roe of a fish; whence the terms oolite and oolitic.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3 "Brescia" to "Bulgaria" by Various

About midway of the section on this part of Green River, are limestones of an obscure oolitic structure, but no true oolite was observed.

From Cave Regions of the Ozarks and Black Hills by Owen, Luella Agnes

The church, which is dedicated to St. Helen, is a fine structure of oolite stone, probably one of the largest in the neighbourhood, except the collegiate church of Tattershall. 

From A History of Horncastle from the earliest period to the present time by Walter, James Conway