schist

noun

: a metamorphic crystalline rock that has a closely foliated structure and can be split along approximately parallel planes

Examples of schist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The soils are mainly Galestro, a type of very friable clay-schist composed of clay-limestone and sandy loam. Joseph V Micallef, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025 And although the soil match to Barolo is off, Harvey likens the blue metamorphic schist with a high mineral content to Piedmont DOCG Gattinara, which is known for its high quality but still under the radar Nebbiolo. Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 8 July 2025 Feldspar and mica, the main minerals in plutonic rocks like granite and metamorphic rocks like gneiss and schist, react with water and oxygen, decaying to clay minerals. David Bressan, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024 Fordham gneiss, one of the three main New York City rock types (Inwood marble and Manhattan schist are the others), had been the road builders’ big obstacle here. Ian Frazier, The New Yorker, 15 July 2024 See All Example Sentences for schist

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French schiste (Middle French pierre schiste, with pierre "stone"), borrowed from Latin schistos (in Pliny's Naturalis historia) "a kind of iron ore, perhaps limonite," shortened from lapis schistos, literally, "fissile stone," from lapis "stone" + schistos "easily split, fissile," borrowed from Greek schistós "split, divided," verbal adjective of schízein "to split, separate" — more at shed entry 1

First Known Use

circa 1782, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of schist was circa 1782

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Schist.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/schist. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

schist

noun
: a metamorphic rock that can be split along nearly parallel planes

More from Merriam-Webster on schist

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!