Meanings
nounphenocryst (plural phenocrysts)
plural phenocrysts
- chemistryAny relatively large crystal embedded in a more fine-grained or glassy igneous rock
Some of the feldspar phenocrysts are more than 1 cm long, but most are less than 5 mm.
1965, Gordon A Macdonald and Takashi Katsura, Eruption of Lassen Peak, Cascade Range, California, in 1915: Example of Mixed Magmas, Geological Society of America Bulletin 76 (5), pages 475Synonyms: phenocrystal
Synonyms & antonyms
nounAny relatively large crystal embedded in a more fine-grained or glassy igneous rock
Similar
Also see
Origin
Translations
Finnish hajarae
- hajaraeAny relatively large crystal embedded in a more fine-grained or glassy igneous rock
Cite this entry
APA
phenocryst. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phenocryst
MLA
“phenocryst.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phenocryst. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “phenocryst,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/phenocryst.
Source: phenocryst on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.