English

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Etymology

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From macro- +‎ -cryst. First defined by Clement & Skinner in 1979 in their paper "A textural genetic classification of kimberlite rocks" published in Kimberlite Symposium II[1].

Noun

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macrocryst (plural macrocrysts)

  1. (mineralogy) A relatively large crystal occurring in a mineral deposit, usually defined as one between 0.5 mm and 10 mm in size.
    • 2000 March 31, Bradley R. Hacker et al., “Hot and Dry Deep Crustal Xenoliths from Tibet”, in Science[2], volume 287, number 5462, →DOI, pages 2463–2466:
      The sanidines were loose macrocrysts and their difference in ages suggests that they were derived from two separate flows.
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