schist

S1C3H4I1S1T1
/ʃɪst/

noun

Any of a variety of coarse-grained crystalline metamorphic rocks with a foliated structure that allows easy division into slabs or slates.

UncommonScrabble 11

Meanings

nounschist (countable and uncountable, plural schists)

plural schists

  1. countableuncountableAny of a variety of coarse-grained crystalline metamorphic rocks with a foliated structure that allows easy division into slabs or slates.

    1915, Charles Will Wright, Geology and Ore Deposits of Copper Mountain and Kasaan Peninsula, Alaska, US Geological Survey, Professional Paper 87, page 29, Narrow bands of schist are interstratified with these limestones, and in turn narrow beds of limestone are interstratified with the schists.

    2 more examples

    Although it shows under the microscope traces of the original gabbro structure and of the original gabbro minerals, no one would hesitate from a microscopical examination to class it with the schists.

    1890, George Huntington Williams, “The Greenstone Schist Areas of the Menominee and Marquette Regions of Michigan”, in US Geological Survey, number 62, page 74

    Millions of years ago the mica schists surrounding the old Brandberg West Mine became folded and concertinaed by enormous horizontal pressures.

    2012, Amy Schoeman, Skeleton Coast, page ii

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekσχιστός“splittable”
  2. Latinschistos lapis“the stone that is easy to split”
  3. Frenchschiste
  4. Englishschist

From French schiste, from Latin schistos lapis (“the stone that is easy to split”), from Ancient Greek σχιστός (skhistós, “splittable”), from σχίζω (skhízō, “to split”).

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian шиста
  • шиста (šista)crystalline foliated rock
Catalan esquist
  • esquistcrystalline foliated rock
Chinese Mandarin 頁岩 /页岩, 泥板岩
  • 頁岩 /页岩 (yèyán)crystalline foliated rock
  • 泥板岩 (níbǎnyán)crystalline foliated rock
  • 片岩 (piànyán)crystalline foliated rock
Dutch schist
  • schistcrystalline foliated rock
Esperanto skisto
  • skistocrystalline foliated rock
Finnish liuske
  • liuskecrystalline foliated rock
French schiste
  • schistecrystalline foliated rock
German Glimmerschiefer, Grünschiefer
  • Glimmerschiefercrystalline foliated rock
  • Grünschiefercrystalline foliated rock
  • kristalliner Schiefercrystalline foliated rock
  • Blauschiefercrystalline foliated rock
  • Glaukophanschiefercrystalline foliated rock
  • Graphitschiefercrystalline foliated rock
Hungarian kristályos pala, csillámpala
  • kristályos palacrystalline foliated rock
  • csillámpalacrystalline foliated rock
Indonesian sekis
  • sekiscrystalline foliated rock
Italian scisto
  • scistocrystalline foliated rock
Japanese 片岩
  • 片岩 (hengan)crystalline foliated rock
Malay syis
  • syiscrystalline foliated rock
Māori kurupaku
  • kurupakucrystalline foliated rock
Norwegian Bokmål skifer
  • skifercrystalline foliated rock
Portuguese xisto
  • xistocrystalline foliated rock
Russian сла́нец
  • сла́нец (slánec)crystalline foliated rock
Spanish esquisto
  • esquistocrystalline foliated rock
Swedish glimmerskiffer
  • glimmerskiffercrystalline foliated rock

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with schist

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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