breccia

B3R1E1C3C3I1A1
UK/ˈbɹɛt͡ʃ.(ɪ.)ə/US/ˈbɹɛt͡ʃ.(i.)ə/US/ˈbɹɛʃ.i.ə/

noun

A rock composed of angular fragments in a matrix that may be of a similar or a different material.

OriginItalian breccia ← French brèche ← Middle French breche →
UncommonScrabble 13
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Meanings

nounbreccia (usually uncountable, plural breccias)

plural breccias

  1. uncountableusuallygeographyA rock composed of angular fragments in a matrix that may be of a similar or a different material.

    Courses of angular boulders line the rim of the volcano, the remains of its last explosive phase, resulting in a volcanic breccia.

    2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 24

Origin

  1. Frankish*breka
  2. Vulgar Latin*breca
  3. Old Frenchbreche
  4. Middle Frenchbreche
  5. Frenchbrèche
  6. Italianbreccia
  7. Englishbreccia

Borrowed from Italian breccia, from French brèche, from Middle French breche, from Old French breche, from Vulgar Latin *breca, of Germanic origin, from Frankish *breka.

More words from Italian, French, Middle French

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 角礫岩 /角砾岩
  • 角礫岩 /角砾岩 (jiǎolìyán)rock
Finnish breksia
  • breksiarock
French brèche
  • brècherock
Indonesian breksia
  • breksiarock
Irish breisia
  • breisiarock
Italian breccia
  • brecciarock
Japanese 角礫岩
  • 角礫岩 (kakurekigan)rock
Korean 각력암
  • 각력암 (gangnyeogam)rock
Persian برش
  • برشrock
Russian бре́кчия
  • бре́кчия (brékčija)rock
Spanish brecha
  • brecharock

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

acerbicBeccari
Cite this entry
APA

breccia. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/breccia

MLA

“breccia.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/breccia. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “breccia,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/breccia.

Source: breccia on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.