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basalt

Pronunciation: /ˈbæs.ɒlt/

The English word “basalt” has 2 meanings listed here.

noun

  1. A hard mafic igneous rock of varied mineral content; volcanic in origin, which makes up much of the Earth's oceanic crust.
  2. A type of unglazed pottery.

Etymology

From Late Latin basaltes, a misspelling of Latin basanites, from Ancient Greek βασανίτης (basanítēs), from βάσανος (básanos, “touchstone”), from Egyptian bḫn (“a hard stone”), b-x:n-O39

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