Meanings
comparative more mafic · superlative most mafic
- geographyDescribing rocks, such as silicate minerals, magmas, and volcanic and intrusive igneous rocks, which contain relatively high concentrations of magnesium and iron.
Much of the southern half of the southeastern body is a mafic syenite, slightly more felsic than the shonkinite.
1954, J. C. Olson, D. R. Shawe, L. C. Pray, W. N. Sharp, Rare-Earth Mineral Deposits of the Mountain Pass District, San Bernadino County, California, U.S. Geological Survey, Professional Paper 261, page 221 more example
As a whole, rocks of this type are referred to as mafic, because of the importance of magnesium and iron in their composition.
2004, Richard Fortey, The Earth, Folio Society, published 2011, page 60Synonyms: ferromagnesic, basic · Antonyms: felsic, acidic
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveDescribing rocks, such as silicate minerals, magmas, and volcanic and intrusive igneous rocks, which contain relatively high concentrations of magnesium and iron.
Origin
Translations
Finnish mafinen, emäksinen
- mafinendescribing rocks, such as silicate minerals, magmas, and volcanic and intrusive igneous rocks, which contain relatively high concentrations of magnesium and iron
- emäksinendescribing rocks, such as silicate minerals, magmas, and volcanic and intrusive igneous rocks, which contain relatively high concentrations of magnesium and iron
German mafisch
- mafischdescribing rocks, such as silicate minerals, magmas, and volcanic and intrusive igneous rocks, which contain relatively high concentrations of magnesium and iron
Cite this entry
mafic. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mafic
“mafic.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mafic. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mafic,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mafic.
Source: mafic on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.