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Glite Dictionary
petrography

petrography

9.8
The study of rocks, their parts, and how they formed
  • noun
  • /ˌpɛtrəˈɡrɑfi/
  • Specialized
translation icon : petrografía
  • The geologist specialized in petrography to analyze the mineral composition of various rock samples.

Examples

  • The course on petrography included hands-on experience with identifying rock structures under a microscope.

  • In their research, they used petrography to classify the different types of sedimentary rocks found in the region.

  • Yuval Goren, micromorphology and petrography

    Academic text (2003)

Synonyms

lithology
vspetrography
  • Specialized
1 9.9

The study of rocks, what they are made of, and how they are grouped

focuses more on composition and internal structure rather than only general features
petrology
vspetrography
  • Specialized
9.8

The study of rocks, especially how they form and what they are made of

focuses on composition and structure rather than origin or formation

Surface Forms

petrography singular
petrographies plural

Morphology

petrography = graph (semi-transparent) = petro + graph + y

The components are recognizable, but the scientific meaning is specialized and not fully predictable for an average B1 learner.

Etymology

Petrography comes from petro- meaning 'rock' and -graphy meaning 'writing' or 'record', the same parts you see in petrol ('rock oil') and photography ('writing with light'). So petrography is like 'rock writing', a way to describe and study what rocks are made of and how they are formed.