phenocryst-free
|phe-no-cryst-free|
/ˈfiːnəkrɪstˌfriː/
without visible large crystals
Etymology
'phenocryst-free' is a modern English compound combining 'phenocryst' and 'free'. 'Phenocryst' comes from Greek roots via Neo-Latin/19th-century scientific coinage: Greek 'phaínein' (to show, giving the prefix 'pheno-') + Greek 'krýstallos' (crystal, giving 'cryst'). 'Free' originates from Old English 'freo' meaning 'not bound' or 'without'.
'Phenocryst' evolved as a scientific term from Greek elements into Neo-Latin/Germanic geological usage (e.g. 19th-century coinages) and entered English as 'phenocryst'; 'free' developed from Old English 'freo' into Middle and then Modern English 'free'. The compound 'phenocryst-free' arose in modern geological descriptions to mean 'without phenocrysts'.
Originally, the element 'phenocryst' signified a 'visible or prominent crystal'; over time, when combined with 'free' the compound came to mean 'lacking such visible large crystals' in reference to rock texture.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
describing an igneous rock texture that lacks phenocrysts (large, conspicuous crystals) and is composed entirely of a finer-grained groundmass.
The basalt was phenocryst-free, composed entirely of a fine-grained groundmass.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/05 05:07