macrocryst

English

Etymology

From macro- +‎ -cryst. First defined by Clement & Skinner in 1979 in their paper "A textural genetic classification of kimberlite rocks" published in Kimberlite Symposium II.

Noun

macrocryst (plural macrocrysts)

1. (mineralogy) A relatively large crystal occurring in a mineral deposit, usually defined as one between 0.5 mm and 10 mm in size.
   • 2000 March 31, Bradley R. Hacker et al., “Hot and Dry Deep Crustal Xenoliths from Tibet”, in Science‎, volume 287, number 5462, →DOI, pages 2463–2466:

     The sanidines were loose macrocrysts and their difference in ages suggests that they were derived from two separate flows.

Related terms

• megacryst
• microcryst
• oikocryst
• phenocryst
• xenocryst