schist

noun

ˈshist 

: 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

Seven-foot slabs of slate and schist are stood up against one another, like a sliced loaf, to re-create the naturally rocky outcrops of the eastern Sierras. —John Metcalfe, Mercury News, 4 May 2026

Soils consisting of granite, limestone, and schist contribute to this wine’s mineral-laden characteristics. —Mike Desimone, Robb Report, 18 Dec. 2025

On the Madison Avenue side, Maya Lin has flanked the entrance with two fake slabs of Central Park schist that don’t do much to adorn the façade but will surely tempt free-solo rock climbers to beat security guards to the top. —Justin Davidson, Curbed, 12 Nov. 2025

Four hundred and fifty million years ago, vast continents collided, squeezing shale into schist to form Coogan’s Bluff, in Highbridge Park, in northern Manhattan. —D. T. Max, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025

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

Rhymes for schist

• cist
• cyst
• didst
• fist
• gist
• grist
• hissed
• kissed
• kist
• list
• missed
• mist

Kids Definition

schist

noun

ˈshist 

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