lithological
- adjective
- /ˌlɪθəˈlɑːdʒɪkəl/
- Specialized
- The geologist presented a detailed report on the lithological features of the region's sedimentary rocks.
Examples
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Experts analyzed the lithological composition of the soil to understand its suitability for agriculture.
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Understanding the lithological characteristics of the area helped the engineers in their construction project.
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I feared we would lose the lurkers completely if we kept on that trend, so I thought some lithological expansion might be in order.
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Lithological expansion?
Blog text (29)
Synonyms
About what rocks are made of and how they look
How Rocky
Surface Forms
Morphology
lithological = lithology (semi-transparent) = litho + logy + ical
The adjective is formed transparently from the technical base word 'lithology' plus the standard adjective suffix '-ical', but the base itself is specialist vocabulary.
Etymology
The word lithological comes from the Greek root litho- and the older word lithos, which mean 'stone'. So lithological describes the type and physical makeup of rocks, which is why geologists use it to talk about rock features.