oolite
nounUK /ˈəʊəlʌɪt/
Etymology From oo- + -lite, after German Oolit.
1
Geography, Geology, Natural sciences A rock consisting of spherical grains within a mineral cortex accreted around a nucleus, often of quartz grains.
- Here and there are beds of oolites, for example, made of little rounded grains – like millet seed – that form only in agitated warm waters, such as you might find off the Bahamas today.2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 170:
2
Rare An ooid or oolith.
- Derived terms
- oolitic, oolitiferous