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petrology

petrology

9.8
The study of rocks, especially how they form and what they are made of
  • noun
  • /pəˈtrɑːlədʒi/
  • Specialized
translation icon : petrología
  • There are numerous papers on the subject, and the determination of early vs. late dolomite is the subject of many days of discussion in a typical graduate-level carbonate petrology course.

Examples

  • We look at data from at least eight different disciplines—foremost seismicity, ground deformation, gas geochemistry, and petrology—and we certainly understand things better than even a few years ago.

    Blog text (25)
  • Phase petrology: predictions and physical proofs

    Academic text (2018)
  • You've had three semesters of Petrology.

  • In an attempt to answer our question, we consulted mineralogy, petrology, and gemology books in our library; searched Google many times; and wrote to a few people who sell dalmatian stone or work with it.

    Blog text (21)
  • The study of petrology is crucial for geologists to understand how various rocks are formed and classified.

  • Many college students find petrology intriguing as it explains the origins and compositions of rocks.

  • His findings in petrology provided valuable information on the formation processes of different igneous rocks.

Synonyms

lithology
vspetrology
  • Specialized
1 9.9

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

focuses on rock origins and formation processes rather than only description
petrography
vspetrology
  • Specialized
9.8

The study of rocks, their parts, and how they formed

studies origins and formation instead of focusing only on composition and structure

How Specialized

petrology
  • Specialized
9.8
geology
  • Specialized
49 3.5
earth science
  • Specialized
3 3.4
science
1.3

Surface Forms

petrology singular
petrologies plural

Morphology

petrology = petro + logy

This is a regular scientific formation meaning 'study of rocks', but it relies on classical combining forms rather than everyday English words, so it is only partly transparent for typical learners.

Etymology

Petrology comes from the Greek parts petro- meaning 'rock' and -logy meaning 'study'. You can see petro- in words like petroleum and petrify, so petrology is the study of rocks and how they form.