polymict

P3O1L1Y4M3I1C3T1

adjective

Containing multiple types of rock.

Scrabble 17

Meanings

adjectivepolymict (not comparable)
  1. not comparablegeographyContaining multiple types of rock.

    The ‘monomict’ meteorites are samples of a single lithology while the polymict meteorites are those containing two or more lithologies.

    1983, Jeremy S. Delaney et al., “The Nomenclature of Polymict Basaltic Achondrites”, in Meteoritics & Planetary Science, volume 18, number 2, →DOI
    1 more example

    It is pointed out that the breccias among stony meteorites are mainly of two kinds : (a) breccias in which the enclosed fragments are of the same material as the surrounding principal mass of the stone: it is proposed to call this kind of breccias “monomict breccias,” and (b) breccias in which the enclosed fragments are of a foreign material as compared with the surrounding principal mass of the stone: it is proposed to call these breccias “polymict breccias.”

    1952, Walter Wahl, “The brecciated stony meteorites and meteorites containing foreign fragments”, in Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, volume 2, number 2, →DOI, pages 91–117
nounpolymict (plural polymicts)

plural polymicts

  1. A breccia containing multiple types of rock.

Origin

Coined by Finnish geologist Walter Wahl in 1952.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

polymict. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polymict

MLA

“polymict.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polymict. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “polymict,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/polymict.

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