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

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

Their Sangiovese vines are planted on schist soil, which the grape loves as schist is good at retaining heat, which helps to ripen the grape while also providing moisture during dry periods. —Cathrine Todd, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 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

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
• fist
• gist
• grist
• hissed
• kissed
• kist
• list
• missed
• mist
• tryst

Kids Definition

schist

noun

ˈshist 

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