Gneiss - Dictionary Definition and Overview

Gneiss :  (noun)

1: a laminated metamorphic rock similar to granite

Based on WordNet 2.0

Gneiss : \Gneiss\ (n[imac]s), n. [G.] (Geol.) A crystalline rock, consisting, like granite, of quartz, feldspar, and mica, but having these materials, especially the mica, arranged in planes, so that it breaks rather easily into coarse slabs or flags. Hornblende sometimes takes the place of the mica, and it is then called hornblendic or syenitic gneiss. Similar varieties of related rocks are also called gneiss.

Based on WordNet (r) 2.0 (August 2003)
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